Discoveries
by Moonraven
Summary: After breaking the engagement off, Wolfram left the castle and Yuuri followed him... (Yuuri x Wolfram) Multiple chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings:** Creative use of Mazoku cultures, character history, and such. ^^; Call it an AU if you're not comfortable with where I'm going. ^_^ Horrendous amounts of sap, angst, and more sap.

Some of you may feel that Wolfram is OOC, but I feel that he has grown since the beginning of the anime. He seems more mature… it stands to reason that his character would continue to evolve. He is also a proud boy. I think he did remarkably well - too well - so far in the face of all that rejection from Yuuri… ^_^; Not for long… *whistles innocently*

 **Disclaimer:** Not mine, no money, don't sue.

.

 **Discoveries - 1**

"I think I hear him coming... can you hurry it up?"

Conrad laughed softly as he held Yuuri's hand. "These things take time, Your Majesty."

"WHERE IS HE?"

Yuuri winced as Wolfram's voice boomed just outside the bedroom door, and he quickly snatched his hand away from Conrad, who was looking much too amused for his own good.

"Your Majesty, we have to take the splinter out before it can get infected."

"Er..." Yuuri didn't have time to reply when the bedroom door flew opened and his very pissed off fiancé stood panting in the doorway.

"Yuuri, you idiot! When did you get back?" Wolfram shouted as he stepped into the room and slammed the door shut. "Why am I always the last to find out your whereabouts?"

"That's not true!" Yuuri protested, but the blond was not listening, instead he was marching angrily towards them. Then, as if he suddenly realized that he may have interrupted something, Wolfram froze in his tracks, his face darkening, and his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "What were you two doing?"

"Nothing!" Yuuri said quickly - too quickly from the look on Wolfram's face. "Really!"

"Then why do you look so guilty?"

"This isn't guilt!" Yuuri pointed to his face. "This is fear. You always get so worked up about NOTHING and then you don't listen and then I get pummeled anyway!" Yuuri threw up his hands in exasperation. "Why do you even bother asking? Why not just hit me and get it over with?"

Wolfram blinked in surprise at his outburst. He looked from his fiancé to his brother - who was still smiling in good humor - then back to Yuuri again. The blond crossed his arms and took a deep breath.

"Fine. I'm listening. What were you doing?"

It was Yuuri's turn to blink; he hadn't expected Wolfram to back down so easily. "Er…" He held up his hand, palm facing Wolfram, so that the blond could see the reddish area where the splinter had imbedded itself in his flesh.

Wolfram moved closer and peered at his hand. "What? That little thing?"

"Hey! It's huge!"

Conrad stepped up and took Yuuri's hand again as Wolfram muttered something about a wimp. "I was helping His Majesty get the splinter out," Conrad told his brother.

"I'll do it!" Wolfram snatched Yuuri's hand back possessively. "Don't think I don't know what's going on," he mumbled as he grabbed the thin needle from Conrad as well. "A likely excuse - a splinter. Hah!"

Yuuri sighed and looked at Conrad helplessly. The older man just smiled and bowed. "Well, it looks like Your Majesty is in good hands. I need to see Gunter about something. I'll see you both later."

"Wait! Don't leave! He's got the nee… OW! Watch where you stick that thing… HEY! That hurts!"

Wolfram looked up from his task, his eyes gleaming triumphantly. "Then shut up, you wimp, and stay still!"

"Don't call me a wimp!"

Yuuri tried to take his hand back, but the threat of the needle loomed eminently over his palm. He swallowed hard and squinted his eyes shut as Wolfram poked at the splinter. Behind him, he heard a soft chuckle from Conrad before the tall knight closed the bedroom door on his way out.

"Wimp."

"Shut up!" Yuuri opened his eyes and this time pulled his hand back angrily. "Give me the needle. I don't need your help!"

Wolfram held up the needle, it had a small black thing stuck to the end. Yuuri leaned in close to take a look. It was the splinter. He looked at his hand and then up at the needle again. He didn't even feel it!

"Er… thanks."

Wolfram shrugged and then put the needle on the table. "So, when did you get back?"

"About an hour ago. This time I ended up in the garden pond."

Wolfram turned and scrutinized his damp hair and Mazoku clothing before nodding. "Mother is looking for you."

"Cheri-sama? Why?" Yuuri suppress the urge to shiver. Wolfram's mother could get so… physical and that usually meant a very uncomfortable situation for Yuuri. Being on the receiving end of Wolfram's jealousy was also something he didn't need.

Wolfram frowned. "You don't remember our discussion before you ran off to 'your world'?"

"First of all, that wasn't a discussion, it was more like Armageddon, and second of all, this is my world, too."

"Your world?" Wolfram snorted. "You seem to have a convenient way of forgetting that."

"I didn't forget anything. I can't help it if I get sucked back and forth randomly! You think it's fun? It's getting to a point where I'm seriously thinking about living in a desert!"

Wolfram studied him for a long moment, as if he wasn't sure he could believe Yuuri. Then he looked away, his gaze fixed on the garden outside their window. When he spoke again, his voice sounded strangely tired. "She wants to… re-discuss the wedding ceremony."

Yuuri backed away and looked instinctively to the door - his exit. "Er… look, do we really have to do that now?"

Wolfram turned to him then, his eyes smoldering. "Do what? The discussion, or the wedding?" His voice was barely controlled, warning Yuuri that he had better tread carefully.

"Well… both, I guess." Yuuri took a discreet step back, rubbing the back of his head in frustration. "I'm only 16… or is it 18?" He thought in confusion as he tried to work out the differences of how time passed between the worlds. "Anyway, I'm too young. I can't be expected to get married yet. Why isn't anybody listening to me?"

"Because you're an idiot!" Wolfram glared at him. "If you didn't want to get married, you shouldn't have proposed!"

"GAAAAAAHHHH!" Yuuri yelled and pulled at his hair. "You're doing this on purpose, I know you are! What is it with you and arguments? I didn't propose! You KNOW that. It was a mistake and you KNOW that, too! How many times do I have to say, 'I DON'T WANT TO MARRY YOU'?!"

Wolfram stared silently at him, his expression unreadable, which was something quite scary seeing that one could usually FEEL what Wolfram was thinking… even in the next castle.

"Too many times, Yuuri," Wolfram finally said, his voice soft and calm, but Yuuri thought he could detect a slight tremor.

Yuuri regretted his outburst instantly. He knew how Wolfram felt about him, of course, the blond was hardly secretive about his love for the Maou. Yuuri just wasn't sure how he felt about Wolfram… or anybody else for that matter. His mind conjured up images of Conrad, warm and welcoming, and he had to shake his head briskly to rid it of the familiar visage. Yuuri turned his attention back to the blond by the window - and found Wolfram staring right back at him. Yuuri wasn't sure what Wolfram saw in his expression, but the blond suddenly looked lost. It wasn't something Yuuri was used to seeing in his feisty fiancé, and it gave him an unfamiliar ache in his chest. Yuuri opened his mouth to apologize, but before he could say anything, Wolfram started walking towards the door.

"Breaking the engagement by either party will not look good for the Maou," Wolfram said tightly as he passed Yuuri. "You might want to think about that before you go public."

Yuuri blinked at his fiancé's back as Wolfram continued towards the door. What the…?

This just couldn't be happening. He'd been ranting for Wolfram to renounce the engagement forever! Why now? Why so calmly and without a fight? Who was this imposter, and where the hell was Wolfram?

"Wait!"

Wolfram stopped at the door, but he didn't turn around. His shoulders were tense and his hands clenched by his sides, the only signs that Wolfram was not a happy camper. Yuuri had to admit that the blond had come a long way… there had been a time when Yuuri didn't want to be anywhere near an unhappy Wolfram; It had proven to be most detrimental to one's health.

"Why?" Yuuri wanted to know. Had the blond found someone else?

Stiff shoulders lifted in a shrug. "What does it matter? You're finally getting what you want." Wolfram opened the door and stepped through. He paused before closing it, turning to give Yuuri an empty look. "Maybe you can go and ask Weller to marry you, now. That's what you really want, isn't it?"

Before Yuuri could respond, Wolfram turned around again and closed the door behind him.

Yuuri stared at the closed door blankly. What the hell had just happened?

"Wolfram!"

Yuuri ran out the bedroom to chase down his fiancé… or should he say ex-fiancé? Gah! What in the world was going on? He had been gone for what, a few days… or had it been weeks here? Gah! For however long, it shouldn't have turned the whole world upside down! He should still be able to count on certain things, like... Wolfram yelling at him and forcing him into marriage!

"Wolfram! Wait!" He could see the blond turning the corner, completely ignoring him. Okay… that was normal enough. Maybe the world would spin on its proper axis again.

He caught up with Wolfram by the portrait of the first Maou… the Wolfram look-a-like. He grabbed the blond by the elbow and pulled him around to face him.

Wolfram looked like he was about to cry.

Oh crap.

"Wolfram," was all that Yuuri could get out. His chest felt strangely tight and his mouth dry.

Wolfram yanked his arm back angrily - a usual defense of the fiery young Mazoku. "Leave me alone, Yuuri. I don't need your pity! I never wanted to marry a wimpy human anyway!"

Normally, 'wimpy human' would have made Yuuri jump headlong into the argument, but this time he held his tongue. He knew why Wolfram was lashing out. He was hurt.

"Look, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it."

"Yes, you did!" Wolfram pushed him hard on the chest, making Yuuri stumble back against the wall painfully. "You've always meant it. From the beginning you tried to get out of it. I was stupid enough to hope that maybe, just maybe, given enough time, you could…" Wolfram gritted his teeth, refusing to go on. He turned his back on Yuuri, ready to walk away. Yuuri didn't know why, but he knew he couldn't let that happen. He pushed himself off the wall and grabbed onto Wolfram again; this time he was prepared for the blond's resistance.

"Wolfram, please. Don't be angry. It's not you, really. It's me."

Wolfram let out a harsh laugh and continued to tug at his arm. He turned and snarled, "You're right, it IS you. YOU don't want me. So… let me go, you idiot!"

"No! Wait! Not like this! Please." Yuuri pulled harder, trying to keep the angry Mazoku prince from leaving. Even though Yuuri thought that he wanted to be free... he hadn't wanted this. Not if it meant this much pain for Wolfram. Surely they could work something out.

Their mini scuffles turned more violent, and Yuuri found himself rolling on the stone floor with Wolfram. A few screams and startled yelps around them warned him that they were no longer alone. Wolfram didn't seem to care and struggled harder to get away.

Finally, Yuuri managed to roll on top of his fiancé. He straddled the blond, holding his captive's wrists tightly above the struggling blond's head.

"Get off me!" Wolfram growled.

"Not until you listen."

"Why? So you can tell me you don't want to marry me? AGAIN?"

"Of course not! I said I was sorry." It suddenly struck Yuuri that this was the normal course for this particular topic. He said he didn't want to get married, Wolfram got angry, and Yuuri apologized. Case close. Well, more like a recess to be picked up another day. Why was that?

"Why?" Wolfram yelled, echoing Yuuri's last thought. "You've been begging for this since the beginning. You're getting it! Now you can go and do whatever you want. Marry whomever you want! Don't think I don't know what's been going on, Yuuri. I'm not that stupid!"

Yuuri couldn't let him continue; he knew very well where Wolfram was going with the speech. The blond may not have been aware of their surroundings, but Yuuri sure was. He needed to shut Wolfram up fast, but how? His brain must have short-circuited during the scuffle because the next thing Yuuri knew... his lips were pressed firmly to those of his angry fiancé's.

Wolfram's emerald eyes grew wide, his mouth stayed opened in mid-tirade. The blond stopped struggling in his shock, his body suddenly pliant and yielding. Yuuri felt something warm stirring in the pit of his stomach, a calling, an awakening... and a need he had never felt before. It grew and rose slowly to his chest, making him ache in places he shouldn't... not here... not like this... and surely not for this man. Yuuri couldn't even begin to describe what was happening to his body. Answering that need, his tongue ventured between Wolfram's stunned lips, to entwined possessively with the blond's. He felt like he was melting. And from beneath him, he thought he heard Wolfram moan.

Then his body began to burn. It was the familiar feeling he got whenever he turned into the Maou... but not quite. The burning was different... it was filled with a kind of pleasure that he'd never experienced during the transformation before.

Distantly he heard Wolfram cry out, but he couldn't see anything past the blue fire that seemed to have consumed them. Pleasure filled his senses, though he couldn't remember doing anything for it. He clutched Wolfram tighter to him and felt the blond go limp in his arms...

And then everything suddenly turned black, and Yuuri felt nothing at all.

.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes and warnings:** This chapter is all Conrad and Yuuri… but not in the way that you may think. ^_^ This IS a Yuuri x Wolfram fic, after all. Please keep in mind that I've got an overactive imagination...

.

.

"Shhhh! He's coming to!"

A woman's voice. Yuuri knew that voice; he had heard it many times, but the numbness in his head was slow to disappear and it took him a few moments to finally put a name to that voice.

Gisela.

Yuuri blinked blearily and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "What happened?"

Conrad's face came into focused as the tall knight loomed anxiously over the bed. Gisela appeared next to him, her face beaming with a happy smile.

"Your Majesty! How are you feeling?"

"Agh..." Yuuri moaned, his head was throbbing like crazy.

"Here, drink this." Gisela brought a cup to him. Conrad gently propped him up, and Yuuri dutifully drank the concoction that Gisela made. It tasted worse than usual, and he told her so.

"That's for scaring everyone out of their wits." She chided gently. "Your headache will be gone soon, and then you can go back to whatever you were doing." She winked at him and took the cup away. "But rest first, or you won't have the energy!" She flashed him another smile and then left the room.

Yuuri blinked blankly after her, and then turned to Conrad who was still sitting by the bed. "What was she going on about?"

Conrad looked amused. "You don't remember?"

Yuuri frowned and tried to dig into his foggy memory. It always took him a while to sort things out right after one of his transformations.

His transformation! He didn't... he hadn't!

"Yes, you did." Conrad said with a small smile.

"What happened?"

Conrad's amusement grew, and he grinned widely as he pointed to Yuuri's bed... or rather the space on the bed next to Yuuri.

Yuuri's gaze followed Conrad's finger and found Wolfram sleeping peacefully next to him.

"Gah!" Yuuri leapt out of the bed and incidentally, into Conrad's arms. "What the..." It wasn't that surprising to find Wolfram in his bed, but he was usually alone after his transformation. He had never found Wolfram with him before...

"You still don't remember?" Conrad's voice was soft, and he was very close. His warm breath brushed gently against Yuuri's cheek, making the young Maou feel shakier than he should have.

Yuuri shook his head, not trusting his voice. _"Maybe you can go and ask Weller to marry you, now. That's what you really want, isn't it?"_ Was that really who he wanted? Conrad?

Yuuri shook his head and pushed himself off his protector. Since the first day he'd arrived, Conrad had always been there for him, a knight in shining armor… well, Conrad didn't have any armor, not anymore, but that was how he'd always seen the man, his knight… someone who would always be there to keep him safe… someone who would always understand him. He had also been to Yuuri's world, something that the other Mazoku couldn't possibly understand. There had always been a special kind of connection between them. Something he couldn't explain, and it wasn't because they were both half human, either. He had always thought it was hero-worshipping on his part… surely, he couldn't have been mistaken?

Yuuri moved slowly to the windows, his eyes carefully fixed on the trees outside rather than the man in the room with him. Damn, but he was feeling all… jumbled up. He hardly knew where to begin to untangle his thoughts. What in the world was going on?

"I remember Wolfram and I had an argument."

"Is that what they call it these days?" Yuuri could almost hear the laughter in Conrad's voice.

He frowned, but kept going. "He wanted to break off the engagement."

Silence.

"I know, weird, huh? Anyway, I tried to stop him." Yuuri rubbed at the dull ache in his chest. Why did recalling that make him feel sad? "We struggled and that's all that I remember."

Conrad was quiet for a few second, and when he spoke, his voice was gentle. "So, you DO want to marry him?"

"No! Yes!" Yuuri hit his forehead on the stonewall in frustration. "I don't know! I just couldn't stand to see him like that."

"So you kissed him."

Yuuri stopped breathing. Suddenly he was caught up in images of Wolfram consumed in blue flames, his body pressing eagerly against Yuuri's… his lips warm and soft… and sweet…

"Oh, my god!" Yuuri clasped a hand to his mouth and turned to Conrad in horror. He remembered it now… "I changed into the Maou while kissing him?"

Conrad smiled and nodded. "In front of half the castle's occupants including myself, Gwendal and Gunter," he supplied helpfully.

"Ehhhhh?" Yuuri slumped against the wall. "EVERYBODY saw it?" Well, that explained Gisela's comments earlier.

"Yes. Gunter is still crying, I believe."

"Oh, no…" How embarrassing! How was he supposed to show his face around the castle now? He had been caught kissing a BOY! He hadn't even kissed a girl yet!

"Oh, he'll get over it, Your Majesty. I wouldn't worry too much about Gunter."

"It's not that!" Yuuri groaned. "I mean, I'm sorry about Gunter and all, but I'm more sorry for me! I'll be walking around looking like a tomato thinking about what they all saw!" Yuuri ended it with a wail.

"But everyone knows you're engaged. They know that Wolfram sleeps here… I'm sure most of them think that, well… you do more than… sleep here."

"GAHHHHHH!" Yuuri wailed louder and banged his head against the stone some more! A soft groan came from the bed, making Yuuri clamp a hand to his mouth quickly. Wolfram snuggled farther into the blanket and then stilled. Yuuri found himself watching the blond in a strange kind of awe. How could anyone so foul tempered be so beautiful?

Then he remembered that Wolfram had never slept in the daytime unless he was sick… let alone with Yuuri after the transformation. "Why is he sleeping?"

"We don't know. Wolfram was caught up in Your Majesty's powers during the change… maybe that affected him more than we know."

"Will he be okay?" Yuuri realized that he hadn't taken his eyes off the blond and turned around quickly, looking back out into the bright sunshine again.

"He was muttering something about a wimp earlier, so Gisela is sure he'll be fine." The laughter in Conrad's voice resumed, but Yuuri stubbornly ignored it. "Besides, this IS his second time causing your transformation...he should be used to it by now."

Yuuri felt his face go up in flames and was grateful his back was to Conrad. He didn't have anything to say since he wasn't sure what had caused him to transform this time. But, the thought that a kiss was responsible… Maybe it was Wolfram. That boy had always rubbed him the wrong way…

"I think it's definitely a sign." Yuuri decided with a firm nod. "I can't very well be married to a person I can't kiss. Can you imagine what would happen if we… well… you know..." Yuuri shuddered. He really didn't want to go there. Boys and boys don't…

But, Yuuri couldn't stop his mind from recalling that what he had experienced with Wolfram was far from unpleasant.

Yuuri thumped his head. This sucked. "What if it wasn't Wolfram? What if I can't… well… kiss anybody?" While that didn't seem like a bad idea at the moment, Yuuri knew that one day he might very well feel differently.

"Conrad." Yuuri turned to the man he had counted on for the past… well… for a long time. "Kiss me," he commanded quietly.

Conrad's usually calm demeanor swiftly changed as his eyebrows shot up and disappeared into his bangs. "Excuse me?"

Yuuri stepped closer to the stunned knight, fully intending on testing out his theory. If this worked, he hoped to kill two birds with one stone; he would find out about the kiss problem, and whether or not he wanted more than friendship from Conrad…

"I don't think it's a good idea." Conrad had regained his composure and was studying Yuuri carefully.

Yuuri frowned. "I'm not sure either, but… I have to know." He turned to look at the sleeping blond hesitantly. Then he turned back to Conrad, more determined. "Just a quick peck. What can it hurt?"

Conrad still didn't look convinced. "You were doing more than a quick peck, Your Majesty."

Yuuri's face heated up again. Gods, would he ever live that down? "Fine. I trust you. I wouldn't be asking anyone else this…"

"Wolfram must never find out." Conrad was very serious now. "Never."

Yuuri nodded, smiling slightly. Yeah, like he was in a hurry to get a lobotomy. "Never," he agreed.

Conrad nodded, then got up and came over to the now very nervous Yuuri. He pulled Yuuri to him, his arms holding Yuuri's slighter form very close. "You're sure about this, Yuuri?"

It was rare that Conrad called him by his given name, and Yuuri found that he was getting weak in the knees. Not trusting his voice, Yuuri nodded.

When Conrad's lips were pressed gently to his, Yuuri half expected to feel the change. When nothing happened, he parted his lips, silently asking Conrad to do more. The tall knight took the invitation and slid his tongue into Yuuri's mouth.

At first the kiss was gentle, almost chaste, but that soon changed into a more heated exchange. This was different, Yuuri thought vaguely. While he enjoyed this immensely - because he was very aware that he was kissing Conrad back rather enthusiastically - it wasn't the same thing that he had experienced with Wolfram. This was… normal - if you considered men kissing men to be normal…

A soft sound from somewhere broke through their kiss, and Yuuri felt a twinge of regret that it had to come to an end… Still dazed, Yuuri's mind didn't recognize the sound until he heard the bedroom door slam shut - hard.

He jumped out of Conrad's arm in a flash and turned to the bedroom door guiltily. It was closed and there was no one there.

Then he heard Conrad's anguished cry and turned to the man. Conrad's attention was fixed on something else. Yuuri followed his gaze and found himself staring at his empty bed.

Wolfram!

"Oh no." Conrad closed his eyes, his face contorting in pain. Yuuri knew that he loved his little brother very much and hurting Wolfram was the last thing he would have wanted to do.

"I'm sorry! It's all my fault." Yuuri said quickly. "I'll explain everything to him. I will."

Conrad gave him a weak smile and shook his head. "It's probably better if he thinks it's my fault. Better for both of you," he added gently.

Yuuri frowned and shook his head. "No! It's my fault, and I won't let you get blamed for this. You two were finally getting closer… I won't let anything tear you apart again!"

"Yuuri."

Yuuri shook his head. "He loves you… he does, he's just stubborn and now… now…" Yuuri could feel tears gathering in the back of his eyes, and he shook them away angrily. "I'm the idiot! I'll fix it."

Conrad smiled. "You might want ot leave him alone for a while. You know he won't listen when he gets all 'worked up' as you put it."

Yuuri looked to the closed door anxiously but nodded. He knew as well as Conrad did that Wolfram wouldn't be listening to him for a long time yet. He sighed tiredly. What a mess.

"Did you find out what you wanted to know?" Conrad asked softly.

Yuuri looked back at the tall man and nodded. "It's definitely Wolfram." But as he was answering Conrad, he could see that the other man was asking him something else entirely. Yuuri felt his face flush yet again. Maybe he had a fever.

Conrad didn't clarify but continued to look at him expectantly, his face kind and patient. Yuuri wished that he was in love with the man. It would have been so nice… Conrad was the best person he knew… the best.

Yuuri nodded.

Conrad smiled and cupped Yuuri's cheek gently. "No matter what you've heard, you are not Julia."

Yuuri cursed his warming face. He looked away quickly and nodded again.

"It doesn't mean I don't love you," Conrad continued. "But it's not the same thing."

"I know. I think I've always known."

"Good." Conrad ruffled his hair affectionately. "You should rest. You're going to need your energy 'talking' to Wolfram."

Yuuri grimaced. It was going to be a long day…

++++++++++++

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

I'm pretty sure Greta called Yuuri by his name in the series, but since this is supposed to take place sometime after the series...and I LIKE to see her call both Yuuri and Wolfram something else...hee hee hee, bear with me, okay?

This is just my brain coming up with stuff… please take it with a grain of salt and if you don't like it… sorry…

The standard disclaimer goes here… not mine, no da!

 **Chapter 3**

"Where's daddy?" Greta asked, he bright eyes looking at the empty space on the bed next to Yuuri.

"Uh… your daddy is taking care of some things, he'll be back soon." Or so Yuuri hoped. He hadn't seen or heard of Wolfram since the blond had stormed out of the room. He was hoping that they would have a chance to talk tonight; Yuuri had been practicing his speech for hours. But, Wolfram had not returned.

"Will he come say good night?"

Yuuri smiled reassuringly down at his daughter. "I'm sure he will, Greta. Even if you're asleep." He kissed her gently on the forehead and wished her happy dreams.

Greta threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the cheek. "Happy dreams to you too, daddy." Then she bounced happily out of the room, no doubt to wait for Wolfram's return.

Yuuri frowned. Ever since Greta had come to live with them, Wolfram had never forgotten to say good night to her when he was at the castle. This fact gave Yuuri an uneasy feeling…

What if…? He wouldn't have!

Yuuri threw the blankets off of him and grabbed his robe. Gwendal would know where Wolfram was. Gwendal had to know…

He threw open the door and practically ran into the man. Gwendal was with Conrad, and both of their faces were grim, making Yuuri's heart sink to his stomach. Yuuri took a quick step back, not liking the looks on their faces...

"Where is Wolfram?" Yuuri was surprised to find that his voice was much harsher than usual. He hadn't meant to sound like that.

The men, who were stepping into the room, stopped in their tracks and looked at him in surprise. Then they turned and looked at each other briefly before turning to Yuuri again. Gwendal was scowling, which was pretty normal but Conrad… Conrad had a slight frown and that didn't bode well for Yuuri at all.

"Where is Wolfram?" He asked again. This time he made sure to make it sound like a request; he really hadn't meant to sound so demanding.

"He went home," Gwendal said roughly, his eyes fixed steadily on Yuuri.

"Home?" Yuuri looked to Conrad in confusion. "Isn't this his home?"

"Wolfram has a castle a few days ride from here," Conrad informed him quietly. "He hasn't used it in a while… not since Your Majesty's arrival."

"So… he left?" Yuuri didn't quite understand this; they had fought numerous times in the past but Wolfram had never… left. He looked quickly up at Gwendal. "When?"

"Late this afternoon."

Yuuri swallowed. Gwendal looked pissed, and Yuuri wondered if Wolfram had told him anything. He could feel his face flaming again. Oh joy.

"And you didn't say anything?"

Gwendal's scowl intensified. "He and Mother had been discussing the wedding ceremony. They were talking about family heirlooms. I assumed Wolfram was going to go retrieve some from his castle. I thought you knew."

Something wasn't right. If Gwendal had thought that Wolfram left to get heirlooms, why were they looking like that? Why were they coming to see him?

Conrad sensed this and answered his silent question, "He left alone. The stable boy said that he was dressed in peasant clothing."

"A disguise?" Yuuri wondered. But, that only answered one question. Why he went alone was still a mystery.

Yuuri turned to Conrad. "Where is his castle?"

Conrad nodded, knowing without having to be told that Yuuri would go there. "We'll leave first thing tomor-"

"No! I'm leaving now. Where is the castle?"

Again, Yuuri was startled at his response. While that had been what he had wanted to say, it wasn't how he had wanted to say it.

Apparently, the men in front of him were feeling the same way; they were staring at him as if he'd tuned into the Maou. Instinctively, Yuuri's hands went up to his hair and he looked down at his body, half expecting to see some changes. But, he looked and felt the same.

"What?" He asked the brothers.

"Nothing." They said almost at the same time. Conrad was openly smiling, and Yuuri thought he saw a hint of a smile on Gwendal's face, but that could just be the trick of the flickering torchlight. Gwendal was not prone to smiling.

"Well?" He prompted. "Which way is his castle?"

"He's not going to his castle," A new voice informed him. Yuuri looked passed Gwendal and Conrad to see Gunter coming towards them.

"What do you mean?"

"The guards saw him taking the south road. That will not take him to his castle." Gunter came to stand between the brothers. "It will take him into human territory."

"What?!" Yuuri knew that Wolfram hated humans. The blond had tried to understand his enemies and had learned a great deal, but he still didn't like them. Why would he go there… and alone?

"Maybe he just wanted to confuse anyone watching," Yuuri said, but even to his own ears, it sounded unconvincing.

"He's at the gate; WE'RE watching." Gwendal glared. "Why would he hide from us? He'd already told me where he was going."

"So… he really is going into human lands?" Yuuri didn't like that idea at all… had it been Conrad and even Gwendal, he wouldn't have worried so much… but Wolfram…

"What could he be thinking?" Gwendal muttered.

"If we hurry, we can catch him before he gets too deeply into their territory." Conrad was already turning away, ready to go after his brother.

"Wait." Yuuri took a deep breath. This was going to be the hard part, but he was not going to back down. "I'm going after him alone."

The three men blinked at him. Yuuri wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Gwendal twitch.

"Uh… Your Majesty…" Gunter started to say, but stopped short when Yuuri looked at him. Yuuri frowned at the expression on Gunter's face; he didn't think he was THAT scary.

"NO!" Gwendal said tersely. "One thoughtless, childish act is enough. I don't think we need another one, especially if you're going to place Shin Mazoku in danger."

Yuuri turned his gaze to Gwendal and saw the man narrow his eyes. "I'm not making a request," he said quietly. "I'm telling you."

"Yuuri!" Conrad reprimanded sternly. Yuuri glanced at him in surprise; it wasn't very often that Conrad got angry with him. "We're only concerned about your safety," Conrad continued in a gentler tone. "Wolfram is a trained soldier. He's seen battle, and he can protect himself until we get there. You, on the other hand-"

"I want to go alone!" Yuuri interrupted. He had to make them see. "Look. Wolfram and I… have a problem and apparently it's a much bigger problem than I'd thought. I need to talk to him… alone."

"You can do that when you get back here." Gwendal was unrelenting.

"I don't think he will come back here until I talk to him."

"Then talk to him on the way back!"

"Not with you guys and half the army there!"

"We can stick you in a tent and leave you alone for a while." Gwendal was definitely twitching now.

Yuuri refused to give up. He took a deep breath and tried again. "Look. I understand your concern, but I'll be in a disguise so no one will recognize me. I'm confident nothing will happen to me." Yuuri was aware that his voice was changing again. He cleared his throat and tried to say something else, but the faces of the men in front of him stopped him cold. They looked… shocked… to say the least.

Yuuri very slowly looked behind him. Hmm… nothing there… they couldn't possibly be looking at… HIM?!

He turned back to them and found them staring at him still. "Um… what's going on?"

Gwendal was about to speak, but Conrad stopped him with a raised hand. "Fine. You may ride after Wolfram in a disguise. But, you must take Morgif and Kohi with you."

"WHAT?!" BOTH Gwendal and Gunter said at the same time, nearly shattering Yuuri's eardrums in the process. Conrad didn't respond, but continued to look at Yuuri.

"Kohi?" Yuuri whined. It was like waving a 'look at me, I'm an idiot' flag. "Why?"

Conrad smiled. "Kohi can relay messages to us in case you are in danger. If you won't allow us to be with you, at least do this… for me."

Yuuri felt warm and fuzzy… yeah, they're wussy feelings, but Conrad always had that effect on him. He was like a big giant teddy bear sometimes.

"Okay… but he has to keep out of sight or people will suspect something."

"Of course." Conrad smiled again. The other two men looked at Conrad as if he'd lost another arm and had replaced it with a tentacle.

"You'll really let me do this?" Yuuri could hardly believe it. Maybe they'd finally realized that he wasn't as helpless as they thought he was.

"If you promise to be careful and keep Morgif with you at all times."

Yuuri nodded quickly. "And Kohi, too!"

Finally, Gwendal grunted and crossed his arms, scowling. Gunter whimpered and looked like he was about to cry.

"Don't worry, Gunter. I'll be fine!"

"Go get ready, Your Majesty," Conrad urged quietly. "I'll meet you in the stable in half an hour."

"Fifteen minutes," Yuuri said as he turned back into his room. "I've been doing this traveling and disguising stuff with you guys for a while now. I don't need that much time."

"Alright, fifteen minutes," Conrad conceded and then closed the door, leaving Yuuri to get ready by himself.

++++++++++

"Are you crazy?" Gunter cried as the three men walked away from Yuuri's room. "How can you let him go alone?"

"I don't think we have a choice," Conrad said thoughtfully.

"He's changed," Gwendal said quietly. "I can feel the power all around him; it's almost like talking to the Maou."

"Yes, I feel it, too." Gunter sighed dreamily. "Do you think he's finally awakened?"

"I don't know," Conrad replied. "But, it's better for us to keep a distant eye, than to have him sneak out on us."

"So… he's not going alone." Gwendal mused.

"What? That moaning sword and a flying skeleton are enough of an escort for the king?" Gunter was far from happy.

"No, we are." Conrad said quietly. "But he doesn't have to know that."

Gunter's eyes widened. "Oooooh…" Then he grinned. "You are a bad man, Your Excellency. You realize he would be very angry with us."

"Why?" Gwendal asked. "We're not going WITH him…"

"Just behind him." Conrad finished with a huge grin.

Gunter narrowed his eyes and looked from one brother to another. "Alright, since when did you start doing this," he pointed back and forth between the men, "telepathy thing?"

Conrad chuckled. "It's a book I read once when I was on Earth. I was amused and told Gwendal about it sometime ago." He glanced at his older brother. "He said it was stupid, I didn't think he remembered it."

"Hn. It is stupid, that's why I remembered it."

Conrad smiled warmly at his brother. "We better start our own preparations. We leave one hour after His Majesty."

TBC…

In case anyone is curious, the book Conrad mentioned is part of the Warlock Series by Christopher Stasheff. The book is titled The Warlock Insane. The series is wonderful, btw. ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

Note: I understand some people didn't like the ConYuu in the last chapter. I thought I should just get it out of the way since it's all over the fandom. Rest assure - this is a YuuRam fic. And they are young (even Wolfram is young by Mazoku standard), they make bad judgements and yes, kissing Conrad in front of Wolfram is not very bright but hey, it's Yuuri!

Yuuri will continue to display a more aggressive Maou behavior… ^^; ? *points to head* Blame my overactive imagination, no da!

Thank you for reading! Your support means a great deal to me.

.  
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Discoveries - 4

"Man… where the hell am I?" Yuuri shifted on his horse and looked around him dispiritedly. Maybe it was a bad idea to come alone after all. It was so dark, and while he knew that Kohi was around, well… the image of a skeleton at this time of night, when he was all alone, with only crickets chirping, really wasn't comforting.

Yuuri urged his horse forward and tightened his hands on the reins. He had been riding hard for several hours now and hoped that he had come far enough to find Wolfram camping somewhere soon. Wolfram wouldn't have been looking out for pursuit, so it was safe to assume that he, like any other normal person, would set up camp before dusk. Only one thing was wrong with that theory though; Wolfram was far from normal. Yuuri sighed and refused to think more about that. Even if Wolfram had set up camp some time ago, Yuuri wasn't sure he would be able to find it. It wasn't like there would be a sign saying, 'Wolfram's camp this way'.

So, what in the world was he doing out here? Yuuri groaned out loud. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. Follow the path, run into Wolfram, have a heart to heart talk - in which he still had no clear idea what to say - and then go back home.

Home… GAH! That almost sounded like they were married!

Married. That was the whole problem, wasn't it? Wolfram wanted it, but Yuuri didn't. Or, did he? Was that why he had kissed Wolfram? Was that why it had felt so different with Conrad? How DID he feel about Wolfram? DID he want Wolfram?

Of course, he didn't! What in the world was he thinking?

Then why hadn't he fought harder to renounce the engagement? Why wait all this time?

Because he had never completely believed that it would be followed through. They all knew that he hadn't known what he was doing; he hadn't meant it… so they really couldn't expect him to actually go through with it. Where he came from, same sex marriage wasn't a normal thing. Heck, people were still getting beat up for being gay. And, he had only been 15 at the time. How could they expect a minor to be responsible for a decision like that?

So, he was completely within his rights to believe that it would all go away… somehow.

But, he hadn't counted on Wolfram falling in love with him.

GAH! So, he was back to Wolfram. And, why the hell was he talking to himself? Yuuri sighed again and nudged his horse on. He hadn't planned on sleeping anyway; it was better to keep going… and hopefully Wolfram hadn't changed course along the way.

A sound from the side of the road startled Yuuri from his reverie, and in his fright, Yuuri dug his heels into the flanks of his horse. Unconsciously, he pulled tightly on the reins, confusing the poor animal further. The horse reared up on its hind legs and threw Yuuri off with a frightened whine. Yuuri yelped as he landed none too gently on his butt and watched helplessly as the horse took off at breakneck speed down the road.

As the horse disappeared into the darkness, Yuuri saw Morgif float back to him. He groaned at the skeletal face and fell back to lie prone on the dirt road. This was just perfect. What else could go wrong, now?

Er… wait! He took that back! Everytime that line was uttered in a horror movie… SOMETHING definitely went wrong. Morgif snuggled - if one could call it that - against him and Yuuri felt oddly comforted by its presence. He closed his eyes and tried to think about his options. Lying in the middle of the road, even in the dead of the night, was clearly not one of them. Who knew what crazy idiot would decide to go for a ride at this time of night?

He wasn't aware that he had said that part out loud until someone said, "You're the only idiot I know that would do something like that."

That voice!

"Wolfram!" Yuuri sat up quickly, a relieved smile on his face… despite the visage that faced him.

The blond glared down at him from the side of the road, looking very much irritated. Okay, so it was too dark for him to really SEE Wolfram's exact expression, but he could FEEL it. It was weird.

His wayward fiancé was dressed in a light colored tunic and pants. His sword was in one hand while the other clenched by his side. His hair was cutely disheveled… and Yuuri did not just think that.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Wolfram looked up and down the road and then at Yuuri. "Where are the others?"

Yuuri shook his head. "I'm alone."

"What?" Wolfram's voice was like a thunderclap in the silent night. "You snuck out again?" The blond stepped onto the road and stare hard at Yuuri. "To go into human territory?"

The small light from the waning moon allowed Yuuri to see Wolfram's anger as the blond scowled down at him. Yuuri quickly shook his head and waved his hands in front of his face frantically. "No, no, no! I was looking for you."

Wolfram took a surprised step back, his face blank. He blinked silently for a few seconds then asked, "How did you know I was here? I told my brother that I was going to Evergreen."

"Then you're on the wrong road, don't you think?" Yuuri asked and gingerly got up. Damn but his butt hurt.

"I forgot about the guards…" Wolfram mumbled, clearly thinking out loud to himself.

"Ne, Wolfram… where are you going?"

Wolfram looked irritated again. "None of your business," he retorted and started to head into the woods.

"Wait!" Yuuri ran after the blond. "Wolfram, please, can we talk?"

"No." Wolfram continued to stalk between the trees.

"What you saw… it isn't what you think!"

Wolfram turned and stared at him, his face wooden. Yuuri couldn't find the words to describe how that expression made him feel.

"I think you were kissing Weller." Then Wolfram turned back to the woods again.

"Okay, so it IS what you think but… not really!"

"Shut up, Yuuri. I can't handle this right now, so… just shut up."

Yuuri didn't know what to say to that. Heck, he didn't even know what to say had Wolfram said, 'sure, let's talk'. He stumbled in the dark after the blond and then REALLY stumbled when his foot caught on something, and he fell forward, hitting the ground hard.

"Ow, ow, ow." He sat up and rubbed at various sore spots. This was not his day… or night. He was tempted to ask 'what else could go wrong?', but stopped himself just in time.

An exasperated sound from his fiancé had him looking up to see the blond looking down at him. Yuuri sighed. This seemed to be their assigned positions for the night; Yuuri on his butt, and Wolfram standing over him.

But, Wolfram's expression was gentler than he had seen in a long while. The blond sighed and offered Yuuri his hand. "Yuuri, you're such a clumsy wimp."

"Don't call me 'wimp'," was Yuuri's automatic reply, but it was halfhearted. He took the offered hand gratefully, and Wolfram helped him to his feet.

"Come on, let's get you back home," Wolfram told him resignedly and turned back to the direction he had been going.

"I… do we have to?" Yuuri didn't know why, but he wanted to spend some time alone with Wolfram. He found that in the past, Wolfram's ready defenses - which were usually violent - seemed to lessen when they were alone. It was as if the blond felt he could let down his guard…

Wolfram stopped and turned to face Yuuri. "They are going to have the entire army looking for you by mid-morning, you realize that, right?"

Yuuri rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Er… no, they won't."

"What do you mean? Don't tell me they KNOW you're out here all alone?"

"Well, yeah, but not entirely alone." He held up Morgif. "I brought him along. And Kohi is around somewhere."

On cue, Kohi emerged from the treetops and flapped around a few time before going back into hiding again.

Wolfram blinked uncomprehendingly and then shook his head. "I don't believe it. They let you come out alone… with just a spazzy sword and a pile of bones?"

From somewhere in the treetops, Yuuri thought he heard Kohi's jaw clicking in protest.

"I'm not completely helpless, Wolfram!" Yuuri protested in his turn. "Besides, I'm in a new disguise. No one knows who I am." Then it suddenly occurred to him, "How DID you know it was me?"

Wolfram stared at him silently for a long moment, his face unreadable. This was new to Yuuri, and he felt oddly uncomfortable. He really wasn't used to Wolfram being this way. Then Wolfram shrugged. "How many people do you know walking around with a sword like that? Besides, your wig fell off on the road."

"WHAT?!" Yuuri's hands went up to his head and found only his hair. He hadn't even noticed it earlier. "Oh man!"

"Idiot," Wolfram muttered and started to walk away again.

"It wasn't my fault!" Yuuri called and hurried after him.

"Whatever." Wolfram did not bother turning around but waved his hand dismissively. Yuuri glared at the back of Wolfram's head and wondered not for the last time, why he was there.

+++++++

When they reached Wolfram's campsite, Yuuri had to admit he was impressed. A one-man tent was set up in a small clearing. It front of that was a cheerful fire, glowing with welcoming warmth. Wolfram's horse was tied to a tree a few feet away; close by for easy escape had the blond needed it.

It wasn't often that he and Wolfram were alone in these types of situations; there had always been other people around to do work around the campsite. Yuuri supposed he should have known that Wolfram would be perfectly all right alone in the wild… the Mazoku was a trained soldier, after all, yet Wolfram had seemed so… pampered.

Wolfram went straight for the horse and began packing small items into the saddlebag.

"What are you doing?" Yuuri asked as he walked over to the fire.

"Breaking camp." Wolfram may not have said it, but Yuuri felt a definite 'duh!' somewhere in there.

"I'm not going back. Not yet in any case." Yuuri refused to look at his fiancé and settled on the flat rock by the fire and then proceeded to warm his hands. "Not until we've talked."

"Yuuri," Wolfram said tiredly, his head fall to rest on the horse's flank. "There isn't anything you have to say that I want to hear. What you did, or what you want to do, is no longer my concern. Go back and leave me alone."

"Wolfram."

The blond lifted his head but didn't look at Yuuri. Wolfram shook his head stubbornly and turned back to the camp. "Don't want to hear it, Yuuri," he said without looking at the young Maou. "Stay the night then, it's almost over anyway, we'll talk about what to do in the morning."

Yuuri watched speechless as Wolfram crawled into the tent and pulled the bedding over himself. He didn't even take off his boots…

That was the strangest experienced he'd had so far in dealing with Wolfram. He could handle an angry Wolfram. He understood the jealous Wolfram, too. And, the insanely violent Wolfram, he was used to… but this melancholic boy - no, Mazoku prince was beyond Yuuri's capacity. He felt the need to slap some sense into the blond… but just as strong, if not stronger, was the feeling that he wanted to hold Wolfram and tell him that everything would be okay.

Yuuri smacked himself on the head. What the hell was wrong with him? All he needed to do was to give Wolfram some time. When the blond wasn't angry, he'd listen… surely?

But, Wolfram didn't seem angry. Yuuri craned his neck to peer into the tent; the blond was completely covered under a pile of blankets, not a single golden hair to be seen. The young Maou did not like that in the least. Yuuri frowned. He couldn't understand the sudden irritation he felt. The longer he stared at the pile of blankets, the more irritated he became.

"Yuuri! Stop growling," Wolfram mumbled from under his covers. Yuuri's eyes narrowed; he wasn't aware he had been growling… but that aside, what caught Yuuri's attention was the fact that Wolfram didn't sound sleepy in the least.

Yuuri couldn't explain what was making him move towards the tent. Couldn't understand the urge to pull the blanket away so that he could SEE the blond. He couldn't even begin to understand the sudden need to be next to Wolfram… to touch him... fuck him…

"AGH!" Yuuri yelled, surprise at his own crass, primal thought, and tried to move back from the opening of the tent. His feet got tangled under him, and he fell back on his butt, kicking up dirt into the tent. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Yuuri!" Wolfram called, and Yuuri looked up to see the worried blond on his hands and knees, looking anxiously at him from his haven in the tent. From somewhere in the back of his mind, Yuuri thought that was a fetching position for his fiancé.

Gah! Yuuri's face flamed and he tried to scoot back, away from the blond.

"Stop!" Wolfram called. "You'll end up in the fire."

Yuuri stopped.

"What happened?"

Yuuri shook his head vigorously. No good telling him THAT.

Wolfram's delicate features were illuminated by the firelight, making the Mazoku prince more breathtaking than Yuuri had ever seen him… unpleasant glare and all.

"Then stop making all that ruckus! I want to get some sleep!"

"I'm... I'm sorry."

Wolfram continued to frown at him, then he gave a small sigh. "You might as well come inside. I can't have you getting sick on me. You're such a wimp, I'm surprised you haven't caught a cold already." Wolfram moved back and a little to the side, allowing some room for Yuuri.

Yuuri was still disoriented, and he didn't even blink at the 'wimp' comment. He stared after Wolfram, not sure if he should go anywhere near the blond right now; clearly he wasn't right in the head. Strange... things… kept popping in there.

"Yuuri! Hurry up! I want to get some sleep!"

Yuuri closed his eyes and took deep breaths. It had been a long night. He was tired and he was sleepy. A good sleep ought to clear all these... thoughts right up.

Right?

Yuuri whimpered silently and hope that whatever freaky thoughts he'd been having lately, wouldn't come back and bother him for the rest of the night. Wouldn't it suck something terrible if he to wake up with Wolfram's sword sticking out of him…?

TBC…

++++++++++++

Thank you for reading. *bows*


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's notes:** Um...yeah, more weirdness. ^_^ And just for the record…if it hadn't been for Yuuri turning super sexy as the totally seme Maou, Wolfram would SOOOO top in this relationship...and he may yet if I have my way. *evil laugh*

I had mentioned earlier that this story is hardly unique. Wolfram's feelings and Yuuri's treatment of him is probably in every single YuuRam fics…but bear with me, okay? ^_^

 **Extra warning :** Um…lime in this chapter. Young men doing *ahem* naughty things to each other…

===========

Yuuri woke slowly, blinking dazedly up at the canvas sheet and then bolting upright. It was morning!

He looked around the tiny space, expecting to find Wolfram somewhere with him, but he was alone. The first thought that came to mind was that Wolfram had left him. Yuuri squashed the empty feeling that came with that thought down quickly; of course Wolfram hadn't left him, the blond was just as bad - if not worse - than everyone else when it came to being over protective.

Yuuri struggled out from under the blankets and stuck his head outside the tent opening. Wolfram's horse was still where he had seen it last night, but now he was munching busily from a pile of something on the ground. In front of the tent, the fire was going strongly and there was a small kettle sitting on a rock getting warmed.

Even though Yuuri still couldn't see Wolfram, he was immensely relieved…not that he had seriously thought that Wolfram would leave him. Still, after having Wolfram run out on him the previous day, it wouldn't shock him too greatly if the blond tried to get rid of him.

And why should he blame Wolfram for that? Hadn't he ignored Wolfram's feelings for too long? Even if he wasn't sure he could return them, shouldn't he at least confront the issue and have a serious talk with his fiancé about their future?

Yuuri groaned. Was he ready for that?

"If you want to throw up, do it by the stream."

Yuuri turned towards his fiancé's voice and saw the man striding out of the woods towards him. Wolfram was carrying several items in his hands and from his freshly washed look, Yuuri guessed that he came from the stream. Yuuri found himself smiling from ear to ear as relief surged through him once again, though Yuuri had yet to figure out why he should feel that way. It wasn't as if he was really afraid of losing Wolfram…

Wolfram stopped by the tent and looked down at him, clearly amused by what he saw. "Thought I left?"

Yuuri's face burned, but he stubbornly shook his head. "Of course not."

Wolfram smirked knowingly. "Sure."

"Really!" Yuuri struggled out of the tent and thanked everyone including the Original King that he didn't fall flat on his face again. "I knew you wouldn't leave me."

Wolfram became angry immediately. "Don't be too sure, Yuuri." With that said, Wolfram spun on his heel and walked stiffly to his horse. Yuuri sighed. Why was he always sticking his foot in his mouth?

Yuuri walked after Wolfram dejectedly. "You're too sensitive, Wolfram. I just meant that I know you would make sure nothing bad happens to me."

That seemed to have worked; Wolfram's shoulders relaxed visibly though the young Mazoku didn't say anything. Instead, he grabbed a black pack off the ground and turning, he tossed it at Yuuri. It was Yuuri's pack.

"Kohi found that this morning but I'm afraid we lost Ao - for now."

"For now?"

"Hn." Wolfram had turned back to the task of storing his things away, not bothering to look at Yuuri as he spoke. "He's a Mazoku horse, he'll return to you on his own."

"Oh, that's good to know," Yuuri commented absently, his mind thinking not about the horse, but about the blond in front of him. He wondered if Wolfram would also return on his own…

Wolfram turned to look at him curiously. The blond mistook the expression on Yuuri's face for something else entirely and reassured him firmly, "Don't worry, Yuuri. You named him, didn't you?"

Yuuri nodded.

"Then he will come back."

Yuuri nodded again. He really didn't see the point in correcting Wolfram.

"Why don't you go wash up and then come have some tea and bread?" His fiancé suggested gently. Yuuri smiled in response to the kindness he saw in his fiancé. Wolfram could be so nice when he didn't feel the need to put up barriers.

Yuuri nodded again, and walked in the direction from which Wolfram had returned.

"Take Morgif with you," Wolfram called after him.

Morgif's muffled moaning came from inside the tent and Yuuri obediently went to get it. He couldn't imagine that there would be danger…Wolfram was quite relaxed, and Yuuri was pretty sure the blond wouldn't have sent him off unless it was relatively safe. But he guessed it was better safe than sorry…

==========

He must have taken longer than he should. Either that, or Wolfram was in a great hurry to be with him again. But when he saw the scowl on Wolfram's face and the unsheathed sword in the blond's hand, Yuuri quickly settled on the first possibility.

Still half naked from his morning wash, which he had conveniently forgotten due to his having been deeply engrossed in pondering a great philosophical matter - er…like what to say to Wolfram - Yuuri blinked confusedly at his fiancé. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

Yuuri looked at the stream - which he suspected would have been a fairly large river in the Spring and then looked at himself wearing only a pair of shorts, in said stream. Then he looked up at his fiancé. "Washing up."

Wolfram growled and sheathed his sword impatiently. "How much dirt can you possibly have on you?"

Yuuri grinned sheepishly at his fiancé and shrugged. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long."

Wolfram blinked at Yuuri's unexpected response. Yuuri hadn't realized that he was prone to arguing as well. It was apparently shocking when he gave in quickly. The look on Wolfram's face said so clearly enough. He wondered if he looked just as cute when he was…whoa…what the hell was that thought?

"It's...okay," Wolfram started to say, but then he caught a sight of Yuuri's relatively dry torso. "You haven't even started!" The blond accused.

"Yes, I have," was Yuuri's automatic reply. Wolfram narrowed his eyes but before he could launch into a tirade, the young Maou apologized again.

Wolfram's mouth hung slightly open and his large emerald eyes were wide as he stared at his fiancé. Yuuri smiled and decided that he definitely liked that look on Wolfram. The blond looked quite…luscious.

Something was stirring in the pit of Yuuri's stomach, again - something that was quickly becoming familiar to him, though he wasn't sure it SHOULD be. It made Yuuri warm all over - ALL OVER - and his mind was providing some very provocative images of Wolfram in his pink frilly nightgown…as well as images of Wolfram WITHOUT it.

Yuuri whimpered and quickly turned away from Wolfram. He looked down in horror at the bulge in his shorts. What the hell was going on? Sure, he'd always thought his fiancé was gorgeous. They'd bantered that back and forth between them…but he'd never REALLY thought…well…THAT!

"Yuuri!" Wolfram's voice sounded unusually…husky to Yuuri, but the Maou stubbornly refused to pay attention. He was quite busy trying to will his erection away.

"Yuuri, stop wasting time!" This time, the voice was accompanied by splashing sounds as Wolfram stepped into the water. "What's the matter?"

Yuuri sat down quickly. The river wasn't deep and the water only went up to his waist but it was more than adequate to do the job; the water was quite cold. Yuuri knew he was somewhat on the slow side when it came to his libido. When several of his classmates had once been talking about going to second or third base with a girl, he'd actually thought they were talking about baseball. Hey! He liked baseball, dammit!

And then he ended up with this 'Maou' problem. Sex had never been farther from his mind, even when faced with a very alluring Wolfram in the aforementioned nightgown…

Did it really take the act of kissing to make him see? Or in this case, feel?

But he had kissed Conrad too. He wasn't having improper thoughts about his tall protector. And what was with the Maou transformation stuff? What did THAT have to do with kissing? Was his sexual awakening linked to being the Maou some how? But why now? It wasn't like this was his first transformation - which Wolfram had been coincidentally involved with as well. And it wasn't like he'd NEVER had any sexual feelings. He masturbated in the past…but he had to admit it hadn't been regularly, or even very often.

Well, anyone would have a hard time getting it up with the kind of life he was leading! It wasn't easy, thank you very much.

"Yuuri!"

Wolfram's emerald eyes glared at him from just inches away, startling him out of his thoughts.

"AGH!" Yuuri yelped and scrambled backwards, managing in the process to fall on his butt once again.

Wolfram scowled at him from a few feet away. "Why are you spacing out in the middle of the stream?"

Wolfram's face was flushed; most likely, he was angry with Yuuri again. But the pink tint on his cheeks and the flashing of those eyes only served to fuel whatever insanity was brewing in Yuuri's treacherous body. Yuuri knew he was openly staring and Wolfram was beginning to sense something unusual in his fiancé. The blond tipped his head to the side and frowned slightly.

"Are you alright?" Wolfram reached over and touched Yuuri's forehead gently. "You feel a bit warm-"

But Wolfram didn't have the chance to finish. Yuuri grabbed his arm and pulled the blond to him roughly. He spared the violence a tiny thought; it bothered him that he should be so rough, but the heat of Wolfram's body was consuming him. The scent of the man in his arms was driving away any remaining sane thoughts and before Wolfram could even utter a small cry of protest, Yuuri had already covered those energetic lips with his own.

Gods, it felt so good.

That was the only coherent thought in Yuuri's mind. After his initial shock, Wolfram began to struggle in Yuuri's arms. The angry blond pushed hard on Yuuri's chest and managed to pull away. Before Yuuri could pull him back, Wolfram's fist connected with his jaw, sending the young Maou sprawling backwards into the water. Yuuri sat up, rubbing his face as he stared at Wolfram in shock. The young Mazoku prince was already on his feet and staring angrily at Yuuri.

"How dare you!" Wolfram said between gritted teeth, his hands clenched tightly by his sides. "You…you cheater! What make you think you could TOUCH me ever again?"

"I…" Yuuri shut up abruptly. Saying 'I didn't do it' wasn't going to go over well in present circumstances, even if it had felt like he hadn't done anything. It was as if he had no control of his body. IT wanted something that his brain was still not sure it wanted.

Yuuri swallowed and tried again. "I'm sorry. I thought… I mean…" Yuuri stopped again, not sure if he should even breathe, let alone speak. The color on Wolfram's face was getting darker and darker…

"I just wanted to…I'm sorry."

Wolfram's jaws tightened some more and then the blond spat out, "YOU wanted to. YOU!" Wolfram stepped closed and hauled Yuuri up by the arms. Yuuri was yanked so close to the blond that he could feel Wolfram's breath fanning hotly against his face. "What about what I want?" Wolfram shook him roughly. "What about how I feel? Does that count?" When Wolfram had finished treating him like a rag doll, the blond leaned in close, his nose almost touching Yuuri's. "So…you _wanted_ to? Do you really? We'll see about that."

Yuuri found himself pulled against his angry fiancé and his mouth ruthlessly plundered, but he didn't protest. It wasn't that he felt Wolfram's actions were justified, that the blond had every right to attack him back. It was because…he actually wanted this…very much. The last two times that he'd had Wolfram in his arms and on his lips, it had thrilled him beyond imagination. And he now craved it like he'd never craved anything before. While his mind still resisted the blond, Yuuri knew that his body had already given up. It wanted Wolfram and it would have him.

Yuuri pressed himself closer to Wolfram and wrapped his arms around the blond's waist. Wolfram's grip on his arms loosened and Yuuri felt a hint of a caress as Wolfram's thumbs moved lightly across his skin.

The warmth stirring in Yuuri's blood turned to searing heat as Wolfram's hardness pressed achingly sweetly against his own. He let out a soft gasp when Wolfram's mouth left his to clamp firmly on the sensitive spot just below his ear. Yuuri moaned and ground his hips forward, rubbing his aching erection into Wolfram's.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…so freaking good…so freaking good…

That probably wouldn't qualify as a coherent thought but it was all that Yuuri's mind could come up with. His entire body was thrumming, like it was a live wire… Yuuri's hand moved down the curve of Wolfram's rear and then he gripped the hard globes tightly, making Wolfram groan and push forward.

Yuuri moaned in response and when Wolfram nudged his legs apart with his knee, Yuuri readily opened for him. He wanted more friction and he panted loudly as he rode Wolfram's leg. Yuuri clung on tightly to Wolfram and it seemed to him that the blond was just as far gone. Muffled moans from his fiancé could be heard as Wolfram continued to feast on his neck.

Yuuri could feel the familiar surge of power and pleasure rushing through his entire body and he fought hard to maintain control. He refused to give in. He would not transform, dammit! He wanted this…he wanted Wolfram.

"Wolfram…" The blond's name fell softly from his lips and if Yuuri hadn't known that it was he who whispered it, he wouldn't have believed it. The name was uttered with such reverence, such longing and tenderness, that Yuuri couldn't believe that it hadn't come from someone else…someone who loved Wolfram the way the blond should be loved…

And then without warning, Yuuri found himself on his butt again but this time, Wolfram wasn't anywhere near him. The blond was slowly backing away, his face contorted with mixed emotions ranging from confusion, to love…to pain.

It was as if the sound of his name, said so lovingly, had served to hurt him even more. Wolfram continued to back away while shaking his head in disbelief. Then Wolfram did what he always did when he was backed into a corner…he attacked.

"You have no right!" He shouted at the Yuuri.

"Hey! That second time you kissed me first!"

Wolfram groaned in frustration. "But…you're not supposed to want me."

Yuuri shifted and tried to get up but Wolfram shook his head, angry again.

"Don't come near me, Yuuri! I don't know what you think you're doing. You've pushed me away every single time I tried to get close to you! So what the hell was that?" Wolfram gestured between them angrily. "Do you actually think that would erase what you did with Conrad? That Wolfram is so besotted that he would run home like whipped dog? Think again! How could you come here and…and…" Wolfram broke off suddenly, his expression torn and confused. "…do that? How could you say my name…like that?"

Yuuri opened his mouth and tried to speak but Wolfram spun on his heels and ran into the woods, leaving Yuuri to stare after him in shock.

TBC…

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Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing. If you loggin, I can reply to you directly. ^_^ *bows*


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's notes and warnings:** Hmmm… slight hint of potential Gwendal/Gunter. Potential, mind you. ^_^

And, I would like to apologize in advance for the Wolfram hero-worshiping in this chapter. *sparkly eyes* The author just LOVES Wolfram in his 'to the rescue' mode...

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"So... what do we do now?" Gwendal asked after hearing a report from their Kotsuhizoku.

"I don't know that there IS anything we could do," Conrad replied, his expression thoughtful. "It's between His Majesty and Wolfram. They really must work this out by themselves."

"That's why you kissed Yuuri?" Gwendal wanted to know.

Conrad cleared his throat and looked around expectantly.

" _ **WHAT!?**_ "

Ah...Gunter. His former teacher was now in his face screaming at the top of his lungs. " **YOU kissed His Majesty? That's not part of your duties! What were you thinking? That's NOT, NOT, NOT what I taught you! Why? Why is everyone kissing His Majesty but ME?** "

Gwendal pulled Gunter off Conrad by the collar and gave his brother a resigned look before turning to Gunter.

" _ **I**_ certainly haven't kissed His Majesty!"

"And, you certainly WILL not!"

Gwendal stared impassively at the other man, his lack of expression the only answer.

Gunter frowned but stood his ground and stared right back at Gwendal.

Gwendal sighed irritably. "Of course I won't kiss him! Nobody is kissing anybody, if I have anything to say about it!"

Conrad laughed. "I don't know what you could possibly say, Your Excellency. The Maou seems to want his mate."

Gunter gasped in shock but remained silent when Gwendal glanced at him.

"Go... smother something for a few minutes," Gwendal told Gunter, oh so politely. "I need to talk to Conrad."

"But-" Gunter's protest was cut short when Gwendal's gaze remained locked on him

Gunter scowled at them both, before turning with a huff and stalking away.

Conrad raised his brows at his brother questioningly.

Gwendal twitched slightly, and then he rubbed at the space between his eyebrows. "He's so noisy sometimes."

Conrad did his best to hide the smile that threatened to break across his face. "And, you would know this because?"

Gwendal glared at him but ignored the implication. "Because you guys always leave him behind for me to deal with! All he does is bemoan the Maou's absence. He drives me nuts!"

Conrad looked in the direction Gunter had gone and then at his brother. "But, you seem to handle him well."

Gwendal narrowed his eyes at Conrad but refused to rise to the bait. Instead, he said, "About His Majesty..."

"Ah..." Conrad smiled. "We'll leave him to his fiancé, shall we? So long as there's no immediate danger, I think we should lay low for now."

Gwendal growled. "THAT is not what I meant."

"Oh," Conrad's smiled dimmed slightly. "How did you know?"

Gwendal remained silent as he watched his brother. Conrad sighed and looked away. "He had to figure out some things... I think it helped."

Gwendal continued to study Conrad, his features thoughtful. Then after a few moments, he grunted noncommittally. "So we wait."

Conrad turned back to his brother with a grateful smile; Gwendal had understood.

"Gunter will protest this." Gwendal frowned, not liking the inaction just as much as his friend, though he suspected Gunter's reason was entirely different from his. Gwendal twitched some more. He liked dealing with a hysterical Gunter even less.

Conrad's smile got wider. "I'm sure you can find ways to appease him, brother."

Gwendal turned up the intensity of his glare, but it was ineffective against his brother. Conrad laughed again, and turned to give instructions to Kohi, leaving Gwendal to fume silently.

Gwendal had an unshakable feeling that being an only child would probably alleviate much of his migraine suffering.

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"Wolfram!" Yuuri called, as he ran wildly through the woods, clad only in his shorts. What the hell happened? They were doing so freaking well...

But, the look on Wolfram's face... Yuuri couldn't help but feel pained when he thought about the expressions he'd seen on his fiancé's face.

"Wolfram!" Yuuri ignored the sharp pain cutting through his bare feet and the rough scratches as branches hit his arms and bare torso... his only thought was to find Wolfram.

He stopped short when he suddenly came to a small clearing and saw Wolfram standing in front of him, facing away. The blond was ankle deep in a pool of somekind, and he was looking around silently.

"Wolfram." Yuuri thought he would faint from the relief.

"Don't move, Yuuri." Wolfram's voice was calm but commanding. He didn't bother turning around but continued to study his surroundings.

Then Yuuri noticed that Wolfram was sinking.

"Wolfram!" He took a step forward, and Wolfram snapped at him angrily.

"I said DON'T MOVE!"

Yuuri froze. "But..."

"It's a sinking pool, Yuuri! It'll be harder for me to get out if you fall in, too." Of course, Wolfram would be inclined to save Yuuri... at the cost of his own life. Yuuri stayed still, but he couldn't help his heart from pounding thunderously in his chest.

"What can I do?" Then he suddenly laughed and smacked a fist into his palm. "I know, we can get Koh-"

"No!" Wolfram said quickly. "There are a few huts very close by and the village is not far; He must stay hidden!"

"But..." Yuuri didn't get to finish, when Wolfram threw himself headlong into the pool.

"Wolfram!" Was the blond trying to commit suicide? Yuuri ran forward and found himself stuck in slushy mud. Oh boy. "Wolfram! Stop!"

But, the blond was swimming awkwardly in the thick water/slush thing and wasn't paying any attention to him. A few seconds later, Yuuri realized that Wolfram was actually moving, though slowly, towards the edge of the dark pool. When he was close enough, Wolfram grabbed onto clumps of branches from the bushes around the edges. Then the blond pulled himself slowly up and out of the sticky slush.

Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief... again. He had been holding his breath, and he hadn't even been aware of it.

Wolfram collapsed just outside the pool, and then turned to look at Yuuri... and froze, his eyes wide with fear.

"Yuuri."

"Huh?" Then remembering where he was, Yuuri glanced down at his feet and found that he was already thigh deep in the mucky water. He blinked in shocked; he hadn't even noticed, he had been so preoccupied with Wolfram's plight. "WAH!" Yuuri tried to walk but couldn't; his feet were firmly rooted to the spot. The harder he tried, the faster he sank.

"Stop, Yuuri!" Wolfram called from the bank, making Yuuri looked up at his fiancé. Wolfram held out a long branch towards him, with one hand, while the other grasped firmly to the bush that had saved him earlier. "Don't struggle. Just take this."

Yuuri grabbed on to the branch with both hands and felt Wolfram pull. The blond looked tired, but he stubbornly pulled on the branch, and slowly Yuuri felt himself move toward the edge of the pool. Not wanting Wolfram to exhaust himself, Yuuri offered, "Maybe I can swim out, like you did."

"No." Wolfram said between gritted teeth. "You've been struggling and have sunk too low. Just don't let go."

"Wolfram..." But, the blond wasn't even looking now; his eyes were closed in concentration as he continued to drag Yuuri to safety.

When Yuuri was close enough to the edge, the Maou was already chest deep in the muck. Wolfram grabbed on to Yuuri's hand and pulled hard. Yuuri's other hand found the bushes that Wolfram had used earlier and helped pull himself free.

By the time Yuuri was completely out of the pool, they were both exhausted and had collapsed bonelessly onto each other. Even though Yuuri couldn't find the words, or the will to say or do anything, his mind registered briefly that he rather liked the feel of Wolfram panting underneath him.

After a few long moments, Wolfram tried to push Yuuri off, but his effort was weak and futile.

"Yuuri, you idiot." His words also lacked the venom they were meant to convey. "I told you not to move."

Yuuri unconsciously burrowed deeper into the crook of Wolfram's neck, grateful that Wolfram was safe and sound. "But I was worried."

Wolfram tried to sit up, but Yuuri was planted firmly on top of him. He sighed and fell back on his back. "Idiot. I knew what I was doing."

Yuuri couldn't help it. Relief rushed through him like wild fire, and he clutched desperately at Wolfram. "I was scared. Gods, I was so scared." He said repeatedly, as he held on tightly.

"Wimp," Wolfram said softly. "I wouldn't have allowed you to die."

Yuuri managed to push his head off the blond long enough to look down into Wolfram's face, his beautifully dirty face. "I wasn't worried about me! Well I was, that was scary, too, but I was more worried about you... I thought you... I thought..." Yuuri couldn't continue, his entire body was shaking with the cold and something else that he couldn't quite identify.

Wolfram turned to look at him and, for a short moment, his expression softened, and Yuuri could feel the love in the other man. Then a shadow passed across the blond's face, and Wolfram's expression hardened immediately.

The blond pushed hard and this time managed to dislodge Yuuri, who fell off him with a grunt. Wolfram got up unsteadily and glared down at Yuuri.

"You thought that you'd finally gotten rid of me?"

Yuuri gasped in shock; unexplained pain shot right through his heart. "Of course not!" He protested hotly. "If that was the case, I wouldn't have been scared!"

"Maybe you were scared that you wouldn't be able to explain it to my brothers."

"That's stupid!" Yuuri got angrily to his feet. "I know you're angry, but now you're unreasonable, too."

Wolfram shrugged. "Unwanted nuisances are found in ditches all the time." Wolfram's voice was hard, but Yuuri could feel the sadness woven all around him.

Yuuri's anger dissipated immediately. "Wolfram... you're NOT a nuisance."

Wolfram's expression remained shuttered, as he blinked at Yuuri.

Yuuri sighed, ignoring the chill that seemed to have settled in his bones. "Okay, so maybe I said too many times that I didn't want to marry you... but that doesn't mean that I wanted you dead!"

Wolfram laughed bitterly. "I AM dead, Yuuri. I'm dead when I'm not with you. Why can't you understand that?" Wolfram looked lost and pained, as he continued, "I die just a little, every time you push me away, every time you look at someone else, everytime... you tell me you don't want me."

"Wolfram..."

But, his fiancé refused to listen and continued as if Yuuri hadn't spoken. "Do you have any idea how I felt that time with Elizabeth? When you callously GAVE me away? I ask myself everyday why I don't just walk away... And do you know what my answer to myself is?" Wolfram laughed again and the hopelessness in that sound pierced Yuuri's heart.

"I tell myself that SOME day you'll see how much I love you and then you'll love me back." Wolfram's face contorted derisively, as he continued to laugh at himself. "When you kissed me yesterday, I thought that I had finally gotten through to you... but then..." Wolfram shook his head, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "I'm always calling you an idiot, but I guess I'm the bigger idiot, huh, Yuuri?" Then the blond took a deep breath and gave him a sad little smile. "But not anymore, Your Majesty. I think it's time I grow up."

"Wolfram..." Yuuri wanted to kick himself in all kind of places; why couldn't he say more than the blond's name? Why couldn't he explain that he did feel something for Wolfram, even if he couldn't promise that it was love... he did feel something very special... something that he had never felt for anyone before...

So, why couldn't he SAY anything? The sound of Wolfram calling him 'Your Majesty' shook Yuuri to the core. On top of everything that Wolfram was saying to him... that title felt like the last nail in his coffin. The entire time he had known Wolfram, the blond had never addressed him that way... not when they were alone...

While Yuuri was berating himself, Wolfram turned and walked away, his shoulders stiff, head held high.

Yuuri's heart sank. He really was losing Wolfram.

And, Yuuri wasn't sure there was anything he could do to stop it.

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TBC...

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Notes: The sinking pool mentioned in this chapter is not canon…so don't go looking for them in the episodes. ^^; I thought of quicksand but sinking pool seems more appropriate.


	7. Chapter 7

The first part is pointless, really. I just love Conrad and Gwendal's brotherly stuff. ^^; Had to put it in.

Most times, Wolfram refers to Gwendal as 'aniue', but I'm going to just use 'Gwendal'; It's weird writing 'brother and I...', so it'll be 'Gwendal and I...' ^^; or whatever else I have in mind.

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"Well, that was close." Gwendal scowled at Conrad after they received their latest report form their Kotsuhizoku. "We could have lost both of them."

Conrad gave Gwendal a tolerant look and sighed. "You should have more faith in them."

"Shin Makoku cannot afford to take that chance!"

Conrad narrowed his eyes and stared at his brother. He knew that when Gwendal said 'Shin Makoku', many times he meant 'Gwendal'. "Shin Makoku cannot afford NOT to. They are going to take care of the future, Gwendal. You have to trust them to take care of each other."

Gwendal's jaw clamped tightly shut; Conrad was afraid he would actually shatter some teeth.

"I'm worried about them, too," Conrad offered quietly, knowing that Gwendal would rather spend the day with Anissina than admit it.

"We COULD move in a little closer," Conrad continued. "Just a few of us, or they would notice all of the ruckus."

"Hmph," was Gwendal's only reply, as he continued to scowl at everything.

Conrad knew that Gwendal trusted that the two would look out for each other, but he supposed it was the eldest brother's lot to worry over his siblings. Conrad smiled at the thought and couldn't help feeling lucky. He gave his brother a sidelong glance and felt warm in his heart. He was very lucky indeed.

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This was not happening.

Yuuri walked after the blond, shivering almost uncontrollably. His mind numbly replayed all the times that he had spurned Wolfram's love… Wolfram's touch… And, it torturously broadcasted all the times he had said hurtful, insensitive things to Wolfram.

All that time, the blond had taken it all. Sure, Wolfram had fought back, it was his nature, but he had never… complained. He had never cried. Through it all, Wolfram had never given up. He had always been by Yuuri's side… even when Yuuri had pushed him away…

This was not happening.

Images of Wolfram risking his life for Yuuri flashed across his mind amidst the horrible images of him ignoring the blond.

 _"_ _Then I'll fall with you."_ Wolfram had said as he held on to Yuuri. The blond was willing to die with him… and all Yuuri could think about at the time was Conrad's arm…

Yuuri wasn't even aware of where they were going; he didn't care. As long as he could feel Wolfram in front of him… and that was an awareness that was more subconscious than anything else since he really couldn't see through all the water in his eyes…

Yuuri wiped at them absently. Why was there water in his eyes? They were already out of that pool and the liquid in THAT couldn't even be called water.

While Yuuri was struggling with the shocking realization that he had been a total jerk and that Wolfram really would be better off without him, the blond had stopped walking and Yuuri smacked right into his back.

Yuuri blinked in confusion and rubbed his sore nose. Wolfram stood stock-still and Yuuri couldn't help but look at the ground to see if they had inadvertently walked into another sinking pool.

They had not. Then Wolfram unsheathed his sword and pushed Yuuri back, away from him. The young Maou couldn't understand what was happening; his mind was still in a fog. Was Wolfram really tired of him and ready to use that sword on him?

But, Wolfram didn't turn around; he continued to stare straight ahead. Yuuri peered around the blond to see what Wolfram was so taken with… and saw three large men rummaging through their campsite.

"Stay out of sight, Yuuri," Wolfram whispered, eyes still on the oblivious men. Yuuri's heart sang; Wolfram was using his name again. He realized it was a stupidly small thing, but he couldn't help but feel happy… well, happier than he had been a few seconds ago.

Yuuri looked down at himself and realized that, underneath all the drying mud, he was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts; he had left Morgif by the stream when he had run after Wolfram. Gods, he WAS an idiot! Now he couldn't help Wolfram!

But, he would not let Wolfram fight alone. He knew that Wolfram was quite handy with his sword, and that he was probably going to hinder more than help… but he couldn't let Wolfram face danger alone, not when he had abandoned Wolfram so many times in the past.

So, when Wolfram stepped out into the open and made himself known, Yuuri was right behind him.

The men looked up from whatever they were rummaging through and stared at them. They didn't look like they were very smart to Yuuri. None of them was armed, but they sneered and advanced towards the armed Wolfram anyway.

"Hey! It's the Mazoku pretty boy. I remember you!" One of them said through crooked teeth. "Aren't you too far inside human territory, pretty boy?"

Wolfram's hand tightened on his sword, but he said nothing; Yuuri glanced at the blond questioningly. "You know them?"

"They're wearing common soldier's uniforms, but from the look of it, I'd say they're deserters."

"Not… OUR soldiers?"

"Of course not!" Wolfram growled. "No Mazoku would be caught dead in that getup. Gwendal and I may have had a run in with them a few months back when they tried to sink a ship from Dai Shimeron."

"Good memory. Where are your troops now?" Ugly, large man #1 stepped in front of Wolfram and threw something at the Mazoku; Yuuri couldn't see what it was, but the powdery stuff hung in the air around the blond like a thick cloud of smoke. Wolfram seemed to have frozen in place.

Ugly #2 laughed, while Ugly #3 picked up a log that was half burning in the fire. He pushed Ugly #1 back and waved the log with a jeer in front of Wolfram. "You didn't know about Tinges root powder, did you? It comes in quite handy in close quarter fights with Mazoku. Can't move, can ya?"

Yuuri stepped up in front of Wolfram, close enough to be enclosed in the dusty air. He spread his arms to the sides, blocking anyone who would try to get to the blond. Yuuri sniffed the air experimentally, and when he didn't feel any effect, grinned at the three men. "I can move," he told them smugly. Then, he reached back without turning around and took Wolfram's sword from the blond's hand and faced the Three Uglies.

"Who's first?"

Yuuri couldn't explain the sudden rush of adrenalin that made his entire body sing. Well he COULD probably explain the actual chemical part – it was a normal physical response to danger. What he couldn't explain was that he was ACTUALLY very eager for the fight. Maybe he had been hanging around Yozak too long. Or even Wolfram; the blond was always in a hurry to fight… well, that was usually WITH Yuuri. The young Maou sighed. If they ever got out of this, he would change all that. He vowed he would try to understand the blond more. Really, he would.

"Yuuri! Don't space out now!"

Wolfram's pained voice broke through his thoughts, and Yuuri looked up in time to see the huge arm bearing the log coming down on him. He sidestepped it and swung up the sword, cutting the log in half. The man growled and threw the stump in his hand at Yuuri, but he ducked in time, and the piece of wood landed somewhere in the bushes behind him.

Yuuri looked past the man to the others and saw that Kohi had taken one of them and was flying off somewhere. Yuuri grimaced and yelled, "Don't kill him!" At the same time, Yuuri couldn't help feeling uneasy at the part of him that wanted that man dead… very, very dead. He shuddered at the thought. What was happening to him?

"YUURI!" Wolfram called frantically. Eventhough Yuuri couldn't possibly see what had alarmed the blond so much, he somehow knew to roll to the right… and came up with the pummel of his sword shoving hard into his opponent's stomach.

"Yuuri…" This time, Wolfram's voice held no fear, only surprise. Yuuri couldn't afford to look at his fiancé yet; he felt no danger to the blond. The danger was in front of him. There were only two Uglies left, and one of them was hunched over in obvious pain. Yuuri didn't know he could hit so hard. Hmmm… that was pretty cool.

But, both of the Uglies were now staring at him in horror and they began to back away from him slowly… at first. Within seconds, they turned and broke into a run and disappeared into the woods.

"Hn." Well, that wasn't so hard. Yuuri would have loved to see the look on Gwendal's face when he found out that Yuuri could very well take care of himself… as well as Wolfram. With a happy smile, Yuuri turned back to the blond. Wolfram was on his knees and staring at Yuuri, his mouth hung open in that adorable way that Yuuri recently found irresistible. Yuuri quickly squashed that thought down.

Yuuri rushed to his fiancé's side and knelt down next to the blond. "Are you okay, Wolfram?" His own voice sounded strange to him, but Yuuri pushed the thought aside to focus on Wolfram.

The young Mazoku slowly nodded, his bright eyes fixed on Yuuri's face. Yuuri let out another relieved sigh. "Where does it hurt?" Yuuri began patting Wolfram down to make sure that the blond was indeed injury free, but Wolfram pushed his hands away.

Yuuri's heart constricted again. He looked up hesitantly, fearful that he would see hatred or anger. But, Wolfram was only staring at him like he had grown another head or…oh, no. Not THAT!

Wolfram must have read his expression, for he nodded slowly again. The blond reached out and touched a tendril of hair at the base of Yuuri's neck. He pulled on it gently, his eyes filled with wonder.

"You're still… you haven't…" Wolfram didn't go on but continued to play with his hair. Then he ran a hand over Yuuri's forehead, brushing the suddenly unruly hair away from Yuuri's face.

Yuuri was stunned, too. He looked down at his body and pulled on his own hair, trying to see what Wolfram was seeing. He didn't see the shimmering blue fire that usually accompanied his transformation, and he certainly felt very much like himself… only more so. He couldn't explain the increased awareness he was feeling… it was as if he was connected to everything.

Including the twenty odd men camping a few miles away. Hmmm… he would have to have a long talk with Conrad.

"Yuuri… how do you feel?" Wolfram's gentle question brought Yuuri back to his fiancé, and he was elated to see the concern and love still radiating from the blond.

Yuuri smiled and captured Wolfram's hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed the palm reverently. "I feel fine." Yuuri was irritated that his voice was doing that baritone thing again, but he ignored it. Wolfram, on the other hand, seemed quite affected by it; Yuuri could definitely work with it.

Wolfram blushed and tried to pull his hand away, but Yuuri held on tight.

"You sounded pained earlier. Where does it hurt?"

Wolfram shook his head; the blush still tinting his cheeks attractively. "It's gone now. It only hurt when I fought the effect of the powder."

"Come back with me," Yuuri said suddenly. "I want only you by my side." Yuuri blinked – and HE was the one who said that. What the…? Well, sure he wanted Wolfram to come home… and he was pretty sure he wanted more than friendship from Wolfram… but he certainly hadn't planned on saying it THAT way. He was practically commanding it

Wolfram frowned as he studied Yuuri carefully, trying to decide what it was that Yuuri really wanted. His lips parted slightly and Yuuri couldn't help his gaze from drifting to them. The memories of the sweetness between those lips danced in his mind, making his hand tighten convulsively around Wolfram's own.

The faint blush on Wolfram's cheeks turned full bloom, as Wolfram realized what Yuuri was thinking. He tugged on his hand again, suddenly shy. "Yuuri…"

At that moment, Yuuri felt light headed, and he shook his head vigorously to clear it. When he looked up at Wolfram again, the blond was really frowning at him.

"I'm sorry, Wolfram," Yuuri said hurriedly. He was vaguely aware that his voice had gone back to its normal tone, but he spared it a tiniest of thoughts. Wolfram seemed to still be in some kind of shock, so Yuuri might as well use this to his advantage. "I don't want to marry Conrad. I want… I want to stay engaged to you… marry you. Please. Is that okay?"

The lightheaded feeling intensified, and Yuuri found himself falling forward, right into Wolfram's arms.

"Wimp," Wolfram said softly. He didn't sound upset and he wasn't pushing Yuuri away. The young Maou was very grateful for that.

Yuuri sat up, with the support of Wolfram, and then he looked into his fiancé's eyes.

"So… will you come back with me?" He asked hesitantly.

Wolfram looked displeased yet thoughtful at the same time. Yuuri wondered what was going on in that pretty, little blond head of his.

Then Wolfram pushed Yuuri off and got up with a huff. "Oh, so you think turning into the Maou and saving my life is good enough for me? Think again, Yuuri! It's going to take much more than that for us to be engaged again!" And then, the blond marched into their campsite and started to assess the damage.

"But…but…" Yuuri knew that he had almost had Wolfram. The blond had nearly given in. He had been all… swoony and everything! What the hell had happened? "We're not engaged anymore?" He asked in disbelief.

"It's… on probation." Wolfram said over his shoulders.

Yuuri's felt a surge of joy. Though he'd never heard that engagements could be put on probation, the concept itself wasn't new to him. He knew what it meant...it meant he had a second chance. He ran into the campsite after Wolfram, eager to show that he could be useful. Yuuri felt strangely giddy. He was pretty sure there was a huge, silly grin on his face, too.

"Where's Morgif?" Wolfram asked suddenly from inside the tent.

"Uh… I think I left him by the stream."

Wolfram sighed and muttered something about an idiot. He poked his head out of the tent and said, "If you don't go get him, he'll rust." Then Wolfram noticed the look on Yuuri's face. The blond ducked back into the tent, but not before Yuuri saw how flushed Wolfram looked.

Yuuri's heart sang again. He had another chance and he had better not screw it up.

"What are you waiting for, Yuuri? Morgif to call you?"

"I'm going! I'm going!" Yuuri laughed and ran towards the stream.

From now on, he promised himself… he would do everything right. Really

TBC…

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Hah! Famous last words!

Last notes: Tinges root powder mentioned in this chapter is just a figment of my imagination. ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of 13. Please enjoy...

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"What do you mean, 'we have to stay here'?" Gunter questioned, hands on his hips. "Why can't we move a bit closer? His Majesty was in danger and we were too far! We need to be able to keep his young, vibrant body from harm!" He nudged Gwendal roughly in the arm. "You ARE with me on this, aren't you, Gwendal? We must get closer!"

"NO, you must not!"

Gunter turned at the voice and squeaked unbecomingly. He blinked with disdain at the mud-encrusted… person in front of him. But, then his face lit up, and he squealed as he recognized the young Maou. He glomped Yuuri enthusiastically, rubbing his cheek against the mud-caked cheek of the young king.

"Your Majesty!"

Yuuri sighed and looked to Conrad and Gwendal for help. They were standing a few feet away, looking at him in surprise. Well… he thought it was surprise, but with Gwendal, one could never be sure. Gwendal didn't have too many expressions…

"Your Majesty," Conrad finally said. "What a surprise."

It certainly was.

Yuuri gave them his best stern look, but that was hard to achieve with an over-amorous advisor attached to his person. "Um… a little help here?"

Gwendal scowled and removed Gunter via his collar once again, and Yuuri smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks, Gwendal."

Gwendal grunted.

Yuuri tried to remember that it was HE who was supposed to be mad, so he cleared his throat and frowned at them. "What are you doing here?"

"Training," Gwendal said, without missing a beat.

Yuuri snorted. "Do I look like I was born yesterday?"

Gwendal raised his eyebrows silently. Conrad coughed discretely into his fist and smiled.

"How did you get here, Your Majesty?" He then looked Yuuri up and down critically. "And what have you been doing?"

"You're changing the subject," Yuuri said, with a roll of his eyes. "Fine, Kohi brought me, and I was mud wrestling with Wolfram."

Gunter whimpered and covered his nose, eyes wide. Gwendal looked like he had swallowed a fly, but Conrad merely smiled.

"Hmm, well I'm glad you found your fiancé, Your Majesty," Conrad said gently. "Now, shouldn't you get back to him? Gwendal really must drill the troops."

Yuuri snorted; like he was going to fall for that.

But, Yuuri had to admit that they had kept their distance. He and Wolfram had been in danger… twice, and they hadn't interfered. He narrowed his eyes and looked from Gwendal to Conrad to Gunter, and then he nodded reluctantly.

"Okay… but 'train' them very far from Wolfram and me, alright? VERY far!"

Conrad's smile got wider. "Of course, Your Majesty."

"I would know, and I will be very angry."

"Er… how did you know we were here, Your Majesty?" Gunter asked, his nose finally stopped bleeding enough for him to talk.

Yuuri shrugged. "I just do." He couldn't explain what he didn't understand. If he were to just say he could feel them, they might think he had been out in the elements too long and decide that he should return to the castle. No, he certainly wasn't ready for that.

Conrad's expression didn't change; in fact he was looking quite pleased with himself. Yuuri frowned.

"You can spit the canary out now."

His knight in shining armor laughed out loud and then ruffled his hair affectionately. "I trust everything is going well?"

Yuuri batted the hand away and ducked his head. Conrad had a way of seeing right through him, and he didn't want the tall knight to SEE anything inappropriate. His mind had been doing rather strange things lately…

"Remember," he tossed over his shoulders, as he went back to Kohi. "Far, far, far away."

Kohi clicked his jaws as if in agreement, but Yuuri peered at him. "You are in on this, so try not to look so smug."

Kohi clicked contritely as he picked Yuuri up, bearing him back to the stream.

.=.=.=

Morgif was lounging quite comfortably in the sun by the stream. His random 'ooh's and 'aah's could be heard a hundred feet away. Yuuri grumbled in exasperation as he stared down at his sword. Morgif smiled up at him and moaned happily.

Yuuri couldn't help but smile. His moods had lightened now that he knew Wolfram would give him a second chance. Not even a spazzy sword – as Wolfram called him – could get Yuuri down.

But, that was before he saw his clothes.

They were floating down the stream at a rather frightening pace. By the time he'd picked up his jaw and started after them, they'd disappeared around the bend.

Yuuri groaned and then turned to glare down at his smiling sword as if it was all Morgif's fault.

"Oooooh…" The sword responded.

"You could have at least watched my clothes."

"Hooohhh…"

Yuuri sighed again, shaking his head. He needed a wash, clothes or no clothes; he was all crusted with dried gook.

When he was done with his bath, Yuuri shivered and looked around… great, he had forgotten that the towel had been washed away with his clothes. He frowned down at Morgif again only to be greeted with a chorus of moans.

"Wonderful," he muttered as he picked up Morgif. "Maybe I should let your sheath float downstream, too. Let's see how YOU like it."

Morgif groaned and actually looked apologetic.

Wolfram met them at the edge of the campsite. He looked at Yuuri's soaking, shivering body in surprised. His cheeks flushed becomingly as he blinked at Yuuri.

"Where are your clothes?"

"Ask him," Yuuri said through chattering teeth and thrust Morgif at Wolfram.

Wolfram looked at the sword with disgust. "You didn't eat them, did you?"

Morgif moaned indignantly.

"They floated downstream while he was getting a tan!"

Wolfram sighed and rolled his eyes. "What did you expect? He's a sword, not an attendant." Then Wolfram took Yuuri by the arm and ushered the Maou to the fire.

"Keep warm," Wolfram instructed curtly. Then he went into the pack and brought out a towel. He tossed that carelessly at Yuuri, and then went to the kettle and poured the hot liquid into a tin cup.

"Drink this when you're done." Wolfram put the cup down on a rock next to Yuuri and went back to packing their belongings. "I haven't packed your pack on my horse yet, so you can get a change of clothes out."

"Thank you," Yuuri told him softly. Wolfram may pretend to be rough, but Yuuri knew that he was really gentle and kind. He'd seen that slip in the blond's defenses countless times… he just hoped that he could convince Wolfram to abandon his defenses completely.

Wolfram didn't reply, so Yuuri contented himself with watching the blond work. The tent was already gone and Wolfram's horse had bedrolls and wrapped packages packed away neatly in and around the saddlebag. The only things left were Yuuri's black pack, the kettle, cups and some food that was laid out by the fire. Yuuri had to admit that Wolfram was a competent camper.

"Here." Wolfram stuck a piece of bread topped with cheese in front of Yuuri.

"Thank you," Yuuri said again and took the bread. His stomach growled approvingly, and Yuuri gave an embarrassed, little laugh at the noise. With all the things that had happened that morning, he had completely forgotten to eat.

"Wimp," Wolfram muttered under his breath, but it seemed to Yuuri that it was more like an automatic response to most things Yuuri did. Sometimes he wondered if Wolfram even realized he'd said it.

Even so… "Don't call me a wimp," Yuuri replied softly. Wolfram didn't look at him; he didn't even acknowledge that he heard Yuuri, but Yuuri saw his cheeks turning a soft shade of pink.

Yuuri felt his heart quicken, but as much as he would love to jump Wolfram, he knew he had to take it slow. He had to gain Wolfram's trust again.

"You're not eating," Wolfram commented.

Yuuri blinked at the bread in his hand and then chuckled. He didn't know when he'd become so absent minded. He flashed a grin at Wolfram before shoving the entire piece into his mouth.

They ate in companionable silence, enjoying each other's company, as well as the tranquil surrounding. Alright, so Morgif kept moaning, and the birds kept chirping, and the wind kept the leaves rustling, and some wild life kept… well, whatever noise they were making – all this, rather loudly – but these things were relatively 'quiet' compared to the bustles of castle life, and when compared to the chaos of this morning, it was downright serene.

Yuuri couldn't ask for a better fresh start than this.

"So… where are we going after this?" Yuuri made sure that Wolfram couldn't miss the WE. He had every intention of following the blond, but he hoped fervently that they weren't going back to the castle just yet.

Wolfram paused, his cup a fraction of an inch from his lips. He thought for a second or so, and then he shrugged. "I don't know."

"Um… weren't you going somewhere?"

Wolfram thought again, and then shook his head. "Not really."

Yuuri supposed that calling Wolfram a liar would probably not go well, and his probation may last a whole lot longer, but come on; 'not really'?

With a sigh, Yuuri decided to play along anyway. "Alright, where ever you decide, we'll go."

Wolfram turned to face him with a frown. "Who said you can come along?"

Yuuri's jaw dropped. Of all the…

"I thought… don't you have to keep an eye on me when I'm on probation?"

Wolfram looked away quickly and buried his face in his cup. After a suspiciously long draught, he put the cup down and shrugged again.

"I really don't care what you do," Wolfram said coldly, but his face clearly betrayed him. Yuuri couldn't be sure, but he thought Wolfram looked awfully pleased.

"In that case, I'd like to come with you." Yuuri said that as softly as he could. Wolfram was known for his quick temper; it really wouldn't do to set him off to soon…

"Do what ever you want," Wolfram told him in a careless tone. "But you might want to do something about my brothers. I don't want them following us all the way to… well… where ever we're going."

"You knew about them?"

"Oh, please. Kohi has been reporting to them regularly. He's louder than Gunter."

Yuuri blinked and processed the information. Wolfram knew, but he was apparently unaffected by it. Maybe these guys do this kind of stuff all the time…

"Okay… I, um, told them to stay far away… I don't know if that's going to do any good, though."

Then Wolfram turned and gave him a mischievous smile, and Yuuri's heart went somewhere around his foot. Damn, he was gorgeous.

"A single horse is faster than an entire troop, most times."

Yuuri blinked. Was Wolfram suggesting what he thought Wolfram was suggesting? Ow… his head hurt.

"Can we really lose them?"

"Only if we lose Kohi."

"How are we going to lose Kohi?"

Wolfram's grin was definitely evil, but Yuuri loved it. This whole thing had that conspiratorial air to it, and it made Yuuri very happy. It was he and Wolfram against the world, and it felt great!

Half an hour later, they were racing through the woods on Wolfram's horse, with Yuuri's arms tightly around the blond's waist.

Back around the campsite, Kohi's eyes sockets were covered, jaws clamped shut with a kerchief, and the Kotsuhizoku was neatly tied to a tree.

Yuuri laughed. He had not felt this good in a very long time.

.  
TBC…

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Thank you for reading! *bows*


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's notes and warnings:** It's courtship time! Well… sorta, kinda… ^^; This chapter deals mostly with Yuuri and Wolfram getting to know each other. Lots of what could be perceived as pointless conversation and nonsense… I enjoyed writing it nonetheless, so I hope you enjoy reading it.

I took liberties with local wildlife… Gimpets do not exist. ^^;

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chapter 9

"I am NOT speaking to you."

Gwendal's knitting paused momentarily, but he pointedly ignored the speaker… who wasn't speaking to HIM; hadn't he just said so? Gunter had been most vocal about their decision to return to Blood Pledge Castle, and he felt that it was his duty to remind Gwendal of that fact… every 30 minutes or so. After three days, Gwendal felt quite strongly that he deserved a medal for not having stuffed Gunter in a closet somewhere.

Gwendal fought the urge to hide under the table; it wouldn't do any good anyway. Gunter had been staring angrily at him for a while now. His knitting was beginning to be affected. His bunny was rapidly changing into something else… unidentifiable.

"Did you hear me? I am NOT speaking to you!"

Gwendal sighed. "If you are not speaking to me… I can't possibly hear you." Oh, he'd missed another loop. Curse that Gunter. Someone ought to take him over the knee and…

"Gwendal! We can't allow His Majesty to wander around the human territory with just Wolfram, Conrad, and Yozak! You must send more troops!"

"If I send more troops, it will be too conspicuous. They are better off if no one knows about them."

"But… but only Conrad and Yozak are trailing them! Do you know what those two are probably doing right now?"

Gwendal put down his questionable bunny and looked up in resignation. "The more reason to leave them alone!"

"But how could you trust them to look for His Majesty if they're doing… **that**?"

Gwendal sighed and rubbed his temple. If Gunter kept this up, Gwendal may have to kiss that medal goodbye.

"I trust no one more than I do my brothers." That WAS the truth… somewhat broad, but true, nonetheless. "Besides, I don't think we have to worry about His Majesty. I think he will be just fine."

Gunter glared at him. "You are so stubborn! I don't think you're listening to me at all."

"Since you are not talking to me, not listening to you should be a given."

Gwendal would have cheerfully taken Gunter to Anissina, if he wasn't afraid to see her himself. The man was so maddening. Stuffing Gunter in the closet was beginning to look quite promising to Gwendal…

But, not nearly as entertaining as taking the ranting man over his knees…

"Gwendal?" Gunter squeaked and took a step back. "What are you doing?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago," Gwendal said with an unholy gleam in his eyes. "Something I'm going to enjoy very much."

"Gwendal?… Meep!"

.

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"What is that?" Yuuri asked Wolfram when the blond returned from his 'hunt' with a furry critter in his arms.

Yuuri's job had been to set up camp and to start a fire while Wolfram got their dinner. He wasn't prepared to see the blond return with a new pet, no matter how cute it was.

"It's a gimpet," the blond told him distractedly. His eyes roamed the campsite; taking in the things he'd assigned Yuuri to do. When he was satisfied, he came to stand next to Yuuri.

"What do gimpets eat?" Yuuri scratched the top of the gimpet's head, cooing at the way the animal almost purred at the touch. Well… maybe it wasn't so bad having a pet. It looked just like a large, fat cat with long, droopy ears. Greta would surely love it. It was so considerate of Wolfram to think of her even now.

Wolfram gave him a strange look. "Berries and nuts."

"That shouldn't be hard to get, right? I see them all over the place."

Wolfram blinked uncertainly, but didn't reply.

Yuuri held out his hands expectantly. "Do they bite?"

Wolfram hesitated, tiny frown lines appeared on his forehead. "I don't think you should get attached to your dinner, Yuuri."

Yuuri froze. "Eh?"

The gimpet whimpered and wiggled in Wolfram's arms as if it understood the word 'dinner'.

Wolfram sighed and shook his head. "Yuuri, meet your dinner." Then he shoved the gimpet at Yuuri. "Dinner, meet Yuuri."

Yuuri took a quick step back. "We can't eat him!"

"Why not? You ate them before."

"I have? When?"

"You gobbled at least three servings of them at the dinner party last month."

The gimpet struggled harder, eyes wide.

Yuuri did some quick thinking and then gasped in shock. "I thought that was chicken!"

Wolfram scowled. "You will eat chickens but not gimpets? Why?"

"Well…well…" Yuuri looked at the cute furry thing again, and swore that the darn thing was giving him the sad puppy dog eyes. He shook his head briskly and said, "But he's so cute."

Wolfram looked at the gimpet, then he looked away quickly. Yuuri knew Wolfram thought so too, but the blond was stubborn. He must have learned that from Gwendal.

Then Wolfram shook his head and turned away, pulling out his long knife at the same time.

"Look, Yuuri. The food we bought in the last village is nearly gone. We have to eat, and when in the wild, we eat what we can find. In this case, gimpets."

"No!" Yuuri grabbed at Wolfram's arm, the one that was holding the knife. "I can eat the berries and nuts. I don't need to eat… that."

"Yuuri! Stopping being such a wimp! This is food!" Wolfram held out the gimpet, and it squeaked in fright.

"Wolfram, please!" Yuuri clung tightly to the blond's arm. He couldn't eat it now that he saw it alive.

"Pretend it's a chicken!"

"I can't! Wolfram, please!"

Wolfram stared at him silently, his expression far from happy. Then he closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine. But don't let me hear you complain that you're hungry." Wolfram put the knife away and Yuuri quickly snatch the gimpet from him before the blond could change his mind. He ran to the edge of the clearing, and gently let the gimpet go. The animal took several hops into the woods, then stopped and turned to look at Yuuri. After a few seconds, it turned away again, and then disappeared into the woods.

Yuuri knew he had a silly grin on his face, but he couldn't help it. Not only was he happy the gimpet got to live, he was happier that Wolfram let him lose their dinner. The blond must be hungry as well, yet…

…When Yuuri turned back to Wolfram, the blond was regarding him with a strange expression on his face. When he saw Yuuri watching him, he quickly composed himself and frowned. Yuuri's smile got bigger. That was such a Wolfram thing to do.

"Thank you, Wolfram," he told the blond softly.

Touches of pink stained Wolfram's cheeks, but he turned away and grumbled unintelligibly under his breath. Wolfram went over to their packs, and rummaged through them for something to eat. Yuuri went to the fire and stoked it a couple of times, wondering what they could do now.

Wolfram came back to the fire with a few small packages wrapped in cloth. He opened them carefully on the ground in front of the fire.

"We only have a little of the bread, some cheese, and a few strips of dry meat left. The bread is getting hard and the cheese is pretty old. I hope you are not very hungry."

Yuuri shook his head as he looked at their meager supply. "You eat them. I said I would eat nuts and berries, didn't I?"

Wolfram stared at him as if he'd eaten the gimpet and its entire family - raw.

"Don't be stupid. It's going to get dark soon; you can't gather nuts and berries now."

"I won't need a lot. I saw a whole bunch not too far away."

Wolfram frowned as he tried to recall what he had seen. "I don't remember seeing anything edible around here."

"That's because you were busy yelling at me for one thing or another," Yuuri told him. "You eat. I'll be right back."

Yuuri got up, ready to go nut gathering, when Wolfram growled irritably. The blond got up as well, frowning all the way.

"What?" Yuuri asked. "It's not far; I can totally do this alone."

"Show me where they are," Wolfram said instead. "I can't risk you eating something that's poisonous, Yuuri. I'm not equipped to deal with some poisons."

Yuuri felt warmth spread through his entire body. It felt so good to know that Wolfram cared about him. He wondered why he should feel anything different at all. Wolfram had always been protective, had always shown that he cared… violently, but he cared nonetheless.

"What?" Wolfram scowled at him. "You're staring." Wolfram consciously touched his hair and tucked a few strands behind his ears. Yuuri found that action quite endearing and - he had NO idea why - he told Wolfram as much.

Wolfram blinked, his lips slightly parted. Then large patches of pink tinted his cheeks, making him more desirable to Yuuri than the blond could possibly guess. Yuuri took an unconscious step forward, but before he could reach out to Wolfram, the blond frowned again and quickly pushed past Yuuri.

"Idiot," the blond muttered and marched into the wood. "Are you going to show me or not?"

Yuuri sighed. He guessed it was better this way; he had planned to take it slow. There was no point getting Wolfram angry again. He just couldn't understand what the heck was wrong with him? He hadn't had any hormones problems in the past… not even when he SHOULD have had them. Why now? It was as if kissing Wolfram actually woke up his hormones, and the blond was permanently imprinted as his sex partner! Kinda like little chicks coming out of the eggs and recognizing the first thing as their mother… Yuuri shook his head briskly. Man, his head was full of stuff, wasn't it? If that imprinting thing really worked with sexual partners, there would be no infidelities… everyone would mate for life.

Actually, that thought was very comforting. He liked that.

But, what if you kissed the wrong person? What if it was a mistake… like slapping Wolfram had been? What then? Would you be stuck with that person for the rest of your life?

ACK! What in the world was he thinking? He was such an idiot. Only HE could come up with something as stupid as all that.

"Yuuri!"

Yuuri blinked and looked towards the voice - the angry voice. Wolfram was glaring at him from behind some bushes, his hand on his hips.

"Are you going to stand there and mumble to yourself all night? You want to eat your nuts or not?"

Heh… Yuuri had a very good come back for that, but his life may have depended on him NOT saying it.

"Sorry!" He said instead and ran after the blond. "I was just thinking."

Wolfram shook his head. "Stop it then; you'll hurt yourself."

Yuuri blinked at the blond, not sure if that was a joke. Wolfram stared back dully.

"That was not nice," Yuuri grumbled.

"Wimp," Wolfram said and turned into the woods.

"Don't call me a wimp," Yuuri called, as he ran after the blond.

"Idiot."

"Hey!"

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TBC…

.

Thank you for reading


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's notes and warnings:** Just Yuuri and Wolfram talking, arguing, doing things…^_^… you know, getting to know each other in a secluded and private environment. Any strange plants and animals the boys encounter are purely of my imagination. Please do not blame the creator of KKM for their lameness. ^_^;

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"You can't eat those either," Wolfram said tiredly.

Yuuri supposed that after having said the same thing as many times as Wolfram had, he would be tired too.

"But they look just like cherries," Yuuri whined.

"But they are not cherries." Wolfram pulled one off and pointed to a tiny blue dot at the bottom of the red fruit. "Many Mazoku perished thinking the same thing you did. When you're very hungry, you tend to see what you want to see." Wolfram tossed the fruit into the bushes and moved on. Yuuri sighed. Wolfram may have been right after all. There was nothing edible around their campsite except for that gimpet.

Yuuri glanced at the blond in front of him. Wolfram was studying leaves, fruits, and plants around them. He did it patiently, carefully; something that Yuuri would never have associated with the blond.

Again, he had to admonish himself. Wolfram may have been quick tempered, but he had that deep-seated loyalty that showcased his dedication and patience to no end. He HAD stayed glued to Yuuri all this time… even when Yuuri had shown no interest. If that wasn't patience, Yuuri didn't know what was.

Love. The thought was so fleeting that Yuuri almost missed it. Yes, Wolfram loved him. Had always loved him… and had waited patiently for him…

"Don't' touch that!"

Wolfram's shout froze Yuuri in his tracks. He looked down at his hands, not aware that he was going to touch anything, and found that they were indeed, reaching towards a gorgeous flower. It looked like a large sunflower but the petals were rounder and the soft golden color reminded him of something... something that made his heart skip a beat. He pulled his hands back immediately. He didn't know why they had gone there to begin with. Bad hands!

"Why? It looked harmless enough."

Wolfram pulled Yuuri away just in case the young Maou decided that it WAS harmless.

"It is, if you're human. The petals have thousands of tiny hairs, soft to human touch but deadly to Mazoku. They will cling to your fingertips and then get absorbed into your skin. You'll be twitching in pain in a few seconds and then dead within minutes."

Yuuri made a choking sound and backed away quickly. "Er… thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Then Yuuri remembered the Tinges root powder. "Maybe it won't affect me, like that powder those thugs threw at you."

Wolfram frowned. "You're half Mazoku, Yuuri. There's a 50 percent chance that you may die. I cannot risk it."

Yuuri nodded. "Do they grow outside of human territory? I've never seen them before." Yuuri was still studying the flower with a certain amount of fascination. It was so beautiful; he could hardly believe it was so deadly. He glanced at Wolfram and wondered if his interest in the flower had anything to do with the fact that it reminded him of the blond.

"They grow everywhere, but since they're deadly to us, we have ways of keeping them under control in our lands. Most households also have antidotes for the poison… I have some in my pack but that's back at the camp. It may be too late by the time we can get to it."

Then Wolfram looked as if he'd just remembered something. "Stay here," he told Yuuri firmly. The blond moved carefully towards the plant, and then kneeled down by the base, where the stalk disappeared into the ground. Then he began digging with his hands.

"What are you doing?" Yuuri took a step forward, trying to see.

"Stay back, Yuuri!" Wolfram said sternly. "The petals may kill you, but the bulb is edible."

Yuuri made a face. "Yeah, but how does it taste?"

"Like potatoes but sweeter."

When Wolfram was done digging up the roots and the bulb, the plant fell to the ground, nearly hitting the blond. Yuuri couldn't help his heart from lurching at the thought of the petals touching Wolfram. But, Wolfram didn't seem to notice and stood up, turning around to face Yuuri. In his hands was a large, lumpy thing that looked very much like a cross between a giant onion and a deformed yam.

Yuuri looked from the flower to the lump, and then up at Wolfram. The blond was watching him with a hint of amusement.

"You don't look too hungry," Wolfram teased.

Yuuri narrowed his eyes. "You were joking. It's not edible. Is it?"

Wolfram rolled his eyes. "Of course it is. Come on. I'm done scouring for the night. It's getting dark and I'm hungry."

Yuuri followed Wolfram back to the camp dejectedly. It was all his fault… even so… he couldn't bring himself to eat the gimpet. Even now, he didn't regret letting the animal go.

"I'm sorry, Wolfram."

Wolfram didn't pause in his stride; he just shrugged. "It was my fault for not killing it before I brought it back. I should have known wimps don't handle that type of thing well."

Yuuri made a face at Wolfram's back. Even now, Wolfram just had to add insult to injury. Yuuri sighed unhappily. He didn't seem to be making any progress toward getting back on Wolfram's good side. Everything he did so far only irritated the blond.

When they got back to the fire, Wolfram took out his knife and peeled the root/bulb thing. He then cut them into cubes and wrapped them in large leaves that he'd collected earlier. He buried the bundle under the hot embers, then sat back and started to pass out the bread and cheese.

"It tastes better if you roast it whole, but it's much faster this way," Wolfram explained and then handed Yuuri a couple of strips of dried meat. "With the komac bulb, we should be able to save some bread for breakfast."

Yuuri took the food gratefully, but he still felt bad. They were short on food to begin with because Yuuri had insisted that they give some to an old man they had met along the way. He was surprised that Wolfram hadn't brought that up… everything was his fault.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

From the corner of Yuuri's eyes, he could see Wolfram stop eating and turn to look at him. Then, the blond said, "Forget it, Yuuri. Besides, if it wasn't for your insisting that we look for nuts, we wouldn't have found the komac bulb."

Yuuri smiled gratefully at Wolfram. "But, we wouldn't have had to look for food, if I hadn't given ours away, or, if I hadn't insisted on letting the gimpet go."

"True," Wolfram agreed with a shrug. "But you can't change who you are, Yuuri. You're kind-hearted and wimpy-" Wolfram just had to smirk here, "but that's who you are. And, I certainly don't want you to change."

As if he'd just realized what he'd said, Wolfram's eyes widened slightly, and he turned back to his food quickly.

Yuuri felt warm all over, and it had nothing to do with the fire. Why hadn't he noticed these things about Wolfram before? The blond was really kind, and he wasn't as shallow as he appeared to be. He was full of knowledge about the lands, and he seemed to be pretty observant about people in general. Why had it taken him this long to realize this? Why had he always thought of Wolfram as… well, bratty?

"You know, you're spacing out an awful lot lately."

Wolfram's voice brought him back to his surroundings, and Yuuri blinked stupidly at the blond.

"I was just realizing how stupid I've been," Yuuri told Wolfram honestly. _It had to be this way,_ Yuuri thought. _I have to be open and hopefully he'll see how sincere I am…_

Wolfram's hand froze mid-air; his mouth stayed opened, eyes wide as they stared at Yuuri. Then he dropped his hand and looked away.

Well, that wasn't what 'open and honest' was supposed to get him!

"Do you regret coming after me already?" Wolfram's voice was cold and hard, but Yuuri could feel the slight tremor in his tone and see it in the way the blond was sitting. It was strange how he could… feel things now; it was as if he was still connected to so many things, including the blond.

Yuuri put down his food and placed a hand on Wolfram's shoulder. "No, Wolfram," he said gently but firmly. "I regret not coming to you sooner."

Wolfram tensed but didn't brush his hand off. "Why?" then he turned to Yuuri, and the young Maou had to wince. Wolfram looked pissed. Damn, but the boy was volatile!

"Did Conrad turn you away? I can't believe that. I'd always thought he loved Julia… he was too honorable to do anything about it, of course. And then I saw his devotion to you, and I wondered." His voice rose a bit here, as he continued. "Then I found out you had Julia's soul… everything made sense now; why you're always together, why you're so devoted to each other." Wolfram got up suddenly and walked a little way.

"I could never compete with something like that. I knew. But, I'm such an idiot!" Wolfram looked like he'd love to tear out his hair… or Yuuri's… or something; his hands were clench tightly by his sides.

"No." Yuuri got up and went to stand in front of Wolfram. "I'm the idiot, Wolfram. I'm sorry. I really didn't want to hurt you, but I know I did. I can't explain the soul thing… it's all a new concept for me. Things like that don't happen where I came from… in fact, if I were to tell the people in Japan about half the things that happen here, they would probably toss me in the loony bin and throw away the keys."

Yuuri shook his head, angry that he'd sidetracked himself again. "What I'm trying to say is, I do feel something special for Conrad… wait, please hear me out. I feel something special for Gwendal and Gunter as well. And Anissina… and Gisela… and Greta… Do you see what I'm saying?" Yuuri reached out and touched a strand of soft blond hair. He recalled now why he'd wanted to touch the flower… the petals were the color of Wolfram's hair. "I feel something very special for you, too."

Wolfram turned his head slightly, moving his hair out of Yuuri's reach. "And, I'm supposed to feel better knowing that we are ALL special to you. That I'm just another 'special' person to you."

Yuuri sighed. "No. You're supposed to understand that I don't prefer Conrad to you."

Wolfram shook his head. "You've always preferred him. You just didn't see it. Everybody else did."

"Every… body?"

Wolfram threw up his hands in frustration. "Gods, Yuuri, you're such an idiot!"

Yuuri grinned. "That's what I've been telling you!"

Wolfram narrowed his eyes at Yuuri, his voice held a dangerous edge. "So, I'm supposed to feel better and go home with you, knowing that you feel the same for almost everyone, and that I can probably expect to see you kissing random people that you care for."

"Huh?" Yuuri was confused to say the least. There were quite a few things wrong with Wolfram's speech; Yuuri didn't even know where to start. "Why would I kiss people randomly? I'm not that kind of guy!"

Wolfram stared at Yuuri silently.

Oh.

Yuuri shook his head vigorously. "No, it's not like that."

Wolfram continued to regard him, eyebrow quirking slightly.

Yuuri sighed. "It was YOUR suggestion. You said to marry Conrad! I just wanted to know if I really did feel for him what you thought I felt for him. You weren't supposed to see that."

"Apparently not."

Yuuri sighed again. He was doing that a lot lately. "Wolfram… look, this isn't coming out the way I wanted it to… there are so many things that I want to say, but I've never done this… relationship thing, and it's coming out all wrong, and you're getting madder and madder, and we're getting no where at all." Yuuri took a deep breath. "I want to make this right. Can I please start form the beginning? Please?"

Wolfram stared at him hard. "Why do you care all of a sudden?"

Yuuri thought about the several ways he could answer the question, but he knew he had to be honest. Everything from this point on had to be straight from Yuuri's heart, or Wolfram would be lost to him. And even though Yuuri wasn't sure that Wolfram would understand the truth, he knew he had to risk it. Their future depended on it.

"I don't know why, I don't understand it myself," he told the blond quietly, all hope seemed to drain from him; it was such a lame answer. But, Yuuri trudged on; he wasn't a quitter. "It was as if someone came and opened my eyes, showed me what was right in front of me all this time." He shrugged helplessly, frustrated at his own inability to make sense.

"I can't tell you that I love you," he continued, his voice earnest. "I don't know that I do. But I feel…" Yuuri shook his head. "Because of that stupid mistake I'd made kissing Conrad… I know now that what I feel for you is very different from what I feel for him… or what I feel for everyone else. I…" Yuuri swallowed hard. "I don't love Conrad… not THAT way, I know that much. And, kissing him isn't half as good as kissing you. Is that a good enough place to start?"

Yuuri stopped and held his breath, waiting for Wolfram to yell at him, but it never came. Wolfram just stared at him, his face a mixture of doubt, shock and… yes, joy.

Then Wolfram blinked, blushing hard. His entire face was glowing beautifully. "Yuuri, you really are an idiot."

Yuuri smiled happily, nodding. "That's what I've been telling you," he repeated his earlier statement softly.

"And kissing people to find out whether or not you love them is NOT going to become a habit!"

Yuuri shook his head wildly. "No! I agree!"

Wolfram nodded, looking somewhat appeased. "Fine," the blond said, eyes glinting with something that Yuuri was afraid to name. "I'll consider everything you've said when your probation is up for review."

"WHAT?!"

.  
TBC…

*laughs* Wolfram is evil, isn't he?

Thank you for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Where are we?" Yuuri looked at the gorgeous sunset over the ocean and took a deep breath. There was always something…clean about the air by the sea. Clean and calming.

"Sukesh - a small town on a more secluded part of the coast. It's quite obscure; no one should recognize us here," Wolfram said without consulting any maps. He had been well educated in human geography as well as Mazoku.

"Why here?" It's not that Yuuri didn't like the town. It was pretty enough, very pretty in fact…a lot like those brochures he saw advertising Caribbean resorts or similar retreats. He just wasn't sure why Wolfram would consider coming here…Wolfram was not fond of water.

Well…that wasn't entirely accurate. Wolfram loved baths…he just didn't like traveling across a body of water; for someone so violent, Wolfram sure had delicate stomach. And since water was the one thing that could take Yuuri to another world, he liked it even less.

Wolfram shrugged carelessly, not saying anything.

From Yuuri's position behind the blond on the horse, he couldn't see his fiancé's expression, but he would be willing to bet big bucks that Wolfram was in his evasive mood again. Yuuri had to admit that since his not-quite-love confession, Wolfram had been less _mopey_. He was prone to blushing a whole lot more - which Yuuri liked quite a bit - but on the other hand, after the blushing, Wolfram would be angry with himself and lash out at Yuuri. Yuuri sighed. Well…at least he knew it was just Wolfram's defenses and hopefully, they would ease up, or better yet, disappear completely.

"We can camp on the beach or go into town tonight. There's a small inn not far from here. Your choice."

When Wolfram offered him choices like this one, Yuuri knew that they were safe… well, as safe as one could be in enemy territory. Yuuri would like to think that Mazoku and humans were NOT enemies, but not all humans felt the same way. They still had to be very careful.

"I could use a hot bath," Yuuri said softly, as he rested his chin on Wolfram's shoulder. Yuuri couldn't explain the sense of belonging that action gave him. It felt intimate, and the fact that Wolfram allowed it gave Yuuri strange sensations in his stomach.

Wolfram nodded silently, still not doing anything about the Maou's head resting on his shoulder. Yuuri hoped that the blond liked it just as much as he did. He could feel Wolfram's hair brushing his face, and he turned his head a little just so he could have more of the soft hair touching him.

The heady scent of Wolfram flooded his senses and invaded his mind, giving Yuuri images of a naked Wolfram writhing and moaning beneath him. Yuuri wasn't prepared for the sudden wave of desire that washed over him. He groaned and pushed back slightly, away from the blond. He couldn't let Wolfram feel his erection now; they had been getting along so well. The last time he'd tried anything, Wolfram had been so angry…

And why was he feeling this now? It had been days and he had seriously thought that he'd learned to control his hormones…that he had a grip on this Maou/sex thing.

"What is it?" Wolfram asked, sensing the tension in Yuuri.

"Uh…nothing…maybe we could take a little break before we go on?" Removing himself from Wolfram's proximity should do the trick.

"It's a few minutes ride from here, Yuuri. Stop being such a wimp."

"I'm not a wimp," Yuuri muttered. If anything, he was a gentleman for not grabbing the blond and having hot and heavy sex with him on the ground.

"Then hang on," Wolfram tossed over his shoulder. The excitement in his voice was Yuuri's only warning as Wolfram spurred the horse on. Yuuri couldn't prevent a small yelp from escaping his throat as they lurched forward. All he could do was hang on tightly to the blond's back.

Yuuri also couldn't help the laughter that bubbled inside him as the desire ebbed considerably. Wolfram could be so playful; it was contagious. He really wished that they had more moments like this together…

By the time they reached the inn, both of their faces were flushed by the wind and laughter. Wolfram stopped about a hundred feet shy of the inn and told Yuuri to put on his disguise, just in case. Yuuri pulled the brown wig out from between the folds of his shirt and grimaced. He never liked to wear the wig; it made his head hot and itchy. He hoped that it had nothing to do with the wig being trampled on by who knew what when he had dropped it that first night. They had cleaned it as best as they could, but it still looked somewhat like a bird's nest.

"Ready?" Wolfram asked.

Yuuri adjusted the shoulder-length brown wig one more time and said, "yeah."

They moved on to the inn and gave the horse over to the stable boy. They took their belongings and found the innkeeper bustling around in the dining room. The man was short and pudgy and quite sweaty, with flushed cheeks. He wore a dirty apron over his brown tunic, which told them that he also doubled as the cook. Suddenly, Yuuri wished they had more komac bulb with them.

The innkeeper took them over to the register and announced that there was only one room left. Apparently it had been a very good season.

Yuuri looked around the busy inn. "I thought this was some obscure town nobody visits. Is there a convention or something?"

The innkeeper blinked at Yuuri. "Convention?"

Wolfram frowned at Yuuri and said quite firmly, "We'll take it."

The innkeeper nodded and called a skinny little kid over. "Take them to the attic."

"What?" Yuuri couldn't have heard that right - _attic_? Sounded so fairy tale like…

The innkeeper bowed and smiled reassuringly. "It's fully furnished as a room. One of the best in the house even."

"So why hasn't it been taken?" Wolfram asked.

The innkeeper shrugged. "It's getting warm and the room at the top tends to be the warmest. There are plenty of windows, but it might get hot and stuffy."

Wolfram shrugged, not concerned about the possible discomfort. After all, they had been sleeping in worse conditions.

"C'mon, Yuuri, let's go."

Yuuri looked around surreptitiously, wondering if Wolfram should use his name. But no one seemed to have heard, or if they had, they didn't find it significant. No one reacted in any way. Yuuri let out a relieved breath. Maybe they would be quite safe here after all.

The attic was on the third floor. Yuuri kinda liked it since they were pretty much alone. He wasn't so sure about the ladder that they had to climb to get to their room, though. No wonder nobody else wanted it. Best room, my foot, he thought.

Wolfram looked about him with a frown and when he looked up the ladder that disappeared into the ceiling, his frown deepened.

The little kid slung Yuuri's pack as well as Wolfram's over his shoulder and then started to climb. It wasn't very high, 10 feet or so, but it was still an unusual way to get into one's room. Yuuri shrugged good-naturedly; he did like new experiences.

After climbing the ladder, they emerged in the middle of their room. The boy showed them how to close the trapdoor and then he was gone. Yuuri didn't even have time to tip him.

Wolfram was still frowning. Yuuri looked around the room and couldn't see why the blond was unhappy; it was actually decent. The air was a tiny bit warm, but not hot and stuffy like the innkeeper had said it would be… Still, there was an elusive feeling about the room, something hovering at the edge of his consciousness. Yuuri gave up, brushing it off as fatigue.

The room was shaped like a triangle, with the ceilings slanting down to touch the floor, creating two walls. A double bed was against one wall with a little table and lamps on each side. Two of the walls had good-sized windows with yellow curtains. Next to one window was a round table with two chairs and next to that, a large chest with four drawers. On the opposite side of the room was a large porcelain tub. Next to the tub rested a small stool holding all kinds of bottles and bath fixings. Despite the faint feeling of watchfulness, Yuuri was already relaxing, thinking about the hot bath. He wasn't quite sure how they were going to get the water into the tub, though. Lugging buckets up the ladder was NOT going to be fun.

The blond had been checking out the room as well, and the first place he went to was the windows. Yuuri threw his pack on the bed and laid back on it with a contented sigh.

"Do we have a good view?" He asked Wolfram, who was still poking his head in and out of the two windows.

"I'm not looking at the view, Yuuri. I'm making sure we have an escape route." Wolfram came to stand by the bed and glared down at him. "That," he pointed to the trap door, "cannot be our only way in and out of this room."

Yuuri propped himself on his elbows and sighed. "You need to relax more, you know that? You'll turn into a Gwendal prematurely."

Wolfram shook his head, his face serious. "Your safety has to come first, Yuuri."

Yuuri sat up and patted the bed next to him. Wolfram sat down reluctantly, a good distance away.

"You said this town is pretty secluded and no one would recognize me." Yuuri reached up and tugged on his awful wig. "With this mop on, even my mother wouldn't recognize me."

Wolfram studied him intently and then smiled. "I guess you're right. You do look pretty deranged."

"Hey!" But Yuuri wasn't offended. He was quite happy to see Wolfram smile. Yuuri smiled back and was delighted to see twin pink spots on Wolfram's cheeks. The blond turned away immediately and moved to the tub. He stared down at it for a moment before turning to Yuuri.

"Do you really want that bath?"

Yuuri knew what Wolfram was thinking. Yuuri had been known to get sucked back to earth at the most inopportune times; would this be one of them? Every time he went in the water it was a risk.

Yuuri tried to look as reassuring as he could. "If they wanted me to go back home, they had plenty of chances these past couple of days when I washed in the rivers. I couldn't help but think that they might actually approve of this little getaway."

Wolfram didn't look like he agreed, but he didn't say anything. He just opened a panel in the wall to expose a metal pipe, and then he pulled the pipe down to hang over the tub. In the wall next to the pipe was a cord. Wolfram pulled on that and hot water poured into the tub from the pipe.

"Cool!" Yuuri exclaimed and jumped off the bed. "I was wondering about that."

Wolfram gave him a strange look but didn't comment. Instead he said, "Do you want me to leave? You get shy about the stupidest things."

Yuuri grinned. "No. In case I do get sucked in… I want to take you with me."

"You can't, if it's not Shinou's will," Wolfram said curtly, but he looked pleased nonetheless.

"But it is Yuuri's will."

Wolfram's eyes widened as he stared at Yuuri. The young Maou knew why: his voice had just done that 'big bad Maou' thing again, and he was pretty sure something had shown on his face as well. The funny thing was, he had known exactly what he was saying. He was sick and tired of playing puppet for the Original King. He couldn't always control what his body did, but at least now he was able to control his mind.

Wolfram frowned. "Yuuri…"

"C'mon. You can scrub my back this time."

Wolfram glared at him. "Sorry. That offer expired a couple of years ago."

"Please?"

Wolfram sighed in resignation. Then he turned to look at the tub and then at Yuuri again. "You want me…in there with you?" The pink spots were back, making the blond quite adorable.

"Why not? We have taken baths together before."

"Yes, but those facilities were much larger."

"It will fit two quite nicely," Yuuri said. It was true; the tub wasn't very wide, but it was at least 6 feet long. It looked a lot like a normal bathtub, only more exotic.

Wolfram stared at him, thinking. After a while, he nodded silently. Yuuri wanted to whoop loudly, but settled for a happy smile instead. Wolfram ducked his head and Yuuri just knew the blond was blushing.

Then Wolfram looked up sharply. "We're ONLY taking a bath," he told Yuuri firmly.

Yuuri nodded. "Only bath." Suddenly he wasn't so sure it was such a good idea. It wasn't as though he had planned anything. He just wanted Wolfram near him. Now that he was thinking about it, having Wolfram naked and near when he still couldn't completely control his body was probably a very bad idea.

Yuuri considered changing his mind, but he wasn't sure how Wolfram would take that. In spite of his protests and reluctance, Wolfram actually 'felt' pleased. Yuuri wasn't sure how he knew, but he did. It was that connection thing again… he also knew that Conrad and Yozak were around, not close, but not very far either. There were only two of them and since they didn't seem like they were going to interfere, Yuuri left them alone.

"You're spacing out again."

Yuuri looked up and saw Wolfram half dressed in front of him. He stared, gaped, drooled, you name it and he was probably doing it.

He was also very, very hard.

Wolfram had just finished taking off his shirt and was tossing that over the chair by the window. His hands were going for the ties on his breeches but they froze when he saw Yuuri staring at him.

Their gazes locked and neither seemed to be able to move. Yuuri wasn't even sure he was breathing; his need for Wolfram effectively knocked the breath out of him. Yuuri had to admit that there had been a time when he hadn't given his fiancé's nakedness much thought, when he hadn't given anyone's nakedness much thought, but that seemed a lifetime ago. Wolfram, with or without clothes, pretty much dominated his mind now…

Then Wolfram licked his lips and Yuuri was lost. He wasn't sure when he had moved, but the next thing he knew, his lips was firmly over Wolfram's, and his hands were tearing urgently at the ties of the blond's pants.

Wolfram moaned, half pushing, half pulling at him. The blond didn't seem to know what he wanted, for Yuuri to stop or go on.

Yuuri managed to get his hand inside his fiancé's pants, his mouth still ravaging the blond's. Wolfram was hard as well. Yuuri took hold of Wolfram's erection and rubbed gently. Wolfram gasped, breaking the kiss and arching into that hand, his head thrown back ecstatically.

Yuuri liked that look on Wolfram. He pumped gently, nuzzling the blond's neck. Wolfram moaned again, his hands clutching tightly to Yuuri's wig. It came off without much resistance, and Wolfram threw it away with a growl. Then he threaded his fingers through Yuuri's real hair and held the Maou close.

Yuuri couldn't tell exactly how it happened, but they lost their balance and fell right into the tub. Water sloshed everywhere, and they broke apart in shock, gasping for air.

Then the one thing that Yuuri had feared the most happened. The water began swirling around them and Yuuri could feel the familiar sensation of weightlessness. He desperately grabbed on to Wolfram, unwilling to let the blond go. Wolfram cried out in anguish as he fought hard to hold on to Yuuri. But try as they might, Yuuri found himself being pulled under, his hands slipped, and he lost his grip on Wolfram.

It seemed like this trip took much longer than usual but that could be because he was fighting it harder than he normally did. He was even aware that he had called on his Maou powers, willing himself to get back to Wolfram.

When Yuuri finally broke through, he found himself thrashing in the bathtub in his own house. Yuuri blinked a few times, trying to get the water out of his face. Then he blinked again, stunned.

He was not alone.

With him in the tub, blinking owlishly was Wolfram.

TBC…


End file.
